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1 







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/^f^ 



THE LIFE 



OF 



ROGER SHERMAN 



THE LIFE 



OF 



ROGER SHERMAN 



BY 



LEWIS HENRY BOUTELL 




CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 

1896 



Copyright 
By a. C. McClurg and Co. 
A.D. 1896 



TO 



HON. GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR, 

IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE RESEARCHES WHICH HAVE 

MADE THIS MEMOIR POSSIBLE, AND IN TOKEN 

OF THE HIGHEST REGARD FOR HIS PUBLIC 

SERVICES AND PRIVATE CHARACTER, 

tJTfjis ILiit of fjts ©wntifatljet 

IS, WITH AFFECTIONATE ESTEEM, RESPECTFULLY 
DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



In 1823, a brief memoir of Roger Sherman was 
published in Sanderson's Lives of the Signers of 
the Declaration of Independence. Gov. Roger S. 
Baldwin, a grandson of Roger Sherman, in a letter 
dated May 2, 1855, says of this memoir: " It was 
prepared in part by Robert Wain, Jr., of Philadel- 
phia, with whom I was in correspondence, and in 
part by the late Jeremiah Evarts, Esq., of Boston 
(father of William M. Evarts, Esq., of New York), 
who married a daughter of Mr. Sherman, and 
gives, I think, a just view of his life and character 
and public services." Robert Wain, Jr., was, when 
this memoir was prepared, the editor of Sander- 
son's Lives. This memoir was necessarily brief, to 
conform to the plan of Sanderson's book. The 
materials for a complete biography of Mr. Sher- 
man were not then accessible, especially Madison's 
report of the Debates in the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1787. 

Mr. Sherman left, at his death, a large mass of 
papers. They were supposed to be in the posses- 
sion of his son Oliver, a merchant in Boston, who 
died unmarried, in Havana, in 1820; but as very 



vi PREFACE. 

few of them have been found, it is supposed the 
rest were lost or destroyed. A part of them are 
in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society. Some years ago, Hon. George F. Hoar, 
a grandson of Roger Sherman, began making a 
collection of letters and documents relating to his 
grandfather, from all known sources. By the sum- 
mer of 1895, he expected to begin the preparation 
of a new and more complete biography of Roger 
Sherman; but he found his public duties so en- 
grossing that he was obliged to abandon his long 
cherished plan. In September of 1895, he pro- 
posed to me to take the material he had gathered, 
and write the biography, to which he found he 
could not give the necessary time. 

Having read before the American Historical 
Association, in the summer of 1893, a paper on 
Roger Sherman's services in the Constitutional 
Convention of 1787, I felt the more inclined to 
accept Mr. Hoar's generous offer, because it seemed 
to me there had been no adequate recognition of 
Mr. Sherman's great services in that Convention, 
or of the masterly ability displayed by him in sup- 
port of the tariff measures of 1789, and of Alexan- 
der Hamilton's plan for the support of the public 
credit. 

I thought, moreover, it was worth while to de- 
scribe, with as much fulness as existing materials 
would allow, the career of a man whose public 
life covered the entire period of that most impor- 
tant part of our political history, extending from 
the beginning of the French and Indian war to the 
close of the first administration of Washington, 



PREFACE, Vll 

and who was one of the most conspicuous figures 
in that formative period of our national life. 

It seemed desirable also to give some explana- 
tion of the influence which Mr. Sherman exerted 
over the men of his generation. How did it hap- 
pen that a man, who was no orator, won the high- 
est admiration from the greatest orators of his 
time, from such men as Patrick Henry, Richard 
Henry Lee, and Fisher Ames? How came this 
reserved, bashful, unemotional man to be the in- 
timate friend of the ardent and impulsive John 
Adams? How did it happen that this man of no 
academic training not only occupied for many 
years the highest legislative and judicial positions 
in his own State, but, in the Continental Congress, 
was at once recognized as one of its foremost men, 
and placed on its most important committees, not- 
ably on the committee of five to prepare the Dec- 
laration of Independence? What were the qualities 
that fitted him to be the leader in the compromise 
measures of the Convention that framed our na- 
tional Constitution, and that enabled him, in his 
seventieth year, on the floor of the House of 
Representatives, to be the foremost advocate of 
the great measures for the support of the public 
credit? The story of such a life is certainly well 
worth telling. Such a character is deserving of 
most careful study. 

As the claim has been made on behalf of John 
Dickinson, William Samuel Johnson, and George 
Mason, respectively, that each of them was the 
author of the compromise by which representation 
according to population was secured in the House 



Vlll PREFACE, 

of Representatives, and equal representation of the 
States in the Senate, I have done what has* never 
been done before, given a detailed statement of 
the various steps in that compromise, as related in 
Madison's Debates. From that statement it will 
be seen that, while others, and especially Oliver 
Ellsworth, Dr. Johnson, and Mr. Dickinson, sup- 
ported with great ability this compromise measure, 
Roger Sherman introduced it, and throughout the 
debate was its foremost champion. I have also 
called attention to the fact, which has been gen- 
erally overlooked, that, eleven years before this 
debate, Mr. Sherman proposed substantially the 
same plan in the Continental Congress, in discuss- 
ing the Articles of Confederation. 

I have also endeavored to describe Mr. Sher- 
man's religious character and opinions; and to 
point out that, while he was a Puritan of the 
Puritans, he brought to the discussion of theo- 
logical questions the same clear insight and strong 
sense that distinguished his legal and his political 
career, and that saved him from the harsh and 
extravagant views which disfigured the creed of 
some eminent divines of his day. 

Mr. Hoar has so thoroughly explored the field, 
that I have been able to add very little to the mass 
of letters and documents relating to Mr. Sherman 
which he had collected. I have vainly endeavored 
to learn who were the persons, and what were the 
books, that influenced the early years of this self- 
educated man. Unfortunately there is very little 
of a personal character in his correspondence. 
Apparently he was not accustomed to think or 



PREFACE, IX 

write much about himself. His life was devoted 
to the public service. He was content to do his 
duty, and unmindful to preserve a record of what 
he had done. 

In a volume of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of 
the World, belonging to Mr. Sherman, were found 
some leaves of Peter Heylin s " Microcosmos," 
containing a poem by Edward Heylin, addressed 
" To my brother, the Author," in which occurs a 
line fittingly descriptive of the controlling princi- 
ple of Roger Sherman's life, — 

" The guerdon of well doing is the doing." 

From some newspaper articles by Ellis Ames, 
and from Huntoon's History of Canton, I have 
gathered a few facts about Mr. Sherman's early 
home; and from Orcutt's History of New Mil- 
ford, I have derived assistance in describing Mr. 
Sherman's life in that town. The Life of Roger 
Sherman in Sanderson's biographies has furnished 
important facts and documents. Some of the 
statements in that Life I have been able to correct, 
or make more full and exact, by means of the 
Connecticut Records published since that life was 
written. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Ancestry 13 

II. Life in Stoughton 18 

III. New Milford Period, i 743-1 761 ... 24 

IV. New Haven Period 41 

V. Stamp Act 49 

VI. Wyoming 70 

VII. The Continental Congress 81 

VIII. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 127 

IX. The Constitution Adopted 166 

X. The Superior Court 182 

XL Services in Congress: — 

Part i. — Impost Law 191 

" II. — Amendments to the Consti- 
tution 206 

" III. — Public Credit 228 

" IV. — The Slave Trade .... 250 

" v. — National Bank .... 257 

" VI. — Senate 263 

XI 1. Religious Opinions 268 

XIII. Last Days 281 

XIV. Conclusion 288 



xii CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX. 

APPENDIX PAGB 

I. Correspondence between John Adams and 

Roger Sherman ON THE Constitution . 311 
II. The Same 325 

III. George Bancroft's Letter on the Fore- 

going Correspondence 328 

IV. Roger Sherman on Half Pay of Army 

Officers 329 

V. Roger Sherman to Josiah Bartlett on 

THE Vermont Controversy 332 

VI. Report on Robert Morris's Accounts . 334 
VII. Roger Sherman's Claims against Con- 
necticut 336 

VIII. Gen. Washington to Gov. Trumbull, 
recommending Isaac Sherman for Pro- 
motion 337 

IX. Wyoming 339 

X. Gen. Wooster to Roger Sherman ... 343 

XI. Descendants of Roger Sherman .... 348 



INDEX 353 



The frontispiece is from the Hartford Statue^ 
by C. B. Ives, 



THE LIFE 



OF 



ROGER SHERMAN. 



CHAPTER I. 

ANCESTRY. 

The branch of the Sherman family to which 
Roger Sherman belonged came from Dedham, 
Essex county, England, and settled in Watertown, 
Massachusetts, about 1634. Dedham is situated 
on the river Stour, in a beautiful rural district on 
the highway from London to Ipswich. It was 
formerly a prosperous town, the seat of large 
woollen manufactures. The only evidence remain- 
ing of its old importance is its fine large church, 
with a pinnacled tower 131 feet high, and a beauti- 
ful Galilee porch. 

The Shermans, and the families with which they 
married, were, as they were then called, clothiers, 
what we should now call woollen manufacturers, 
and seem to have been of a good deal of impor- 
tance. There were several members of Parliament 
in the line of Mr. Sherman*s ancestry. The first 
of them to which his pedigree can be directly 



14 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

traced is Henry Sherman, of Dedham, who was born 
about 1520, and died in 1589. His wife, who died 
in 1580, was Agnes, whose surname is supposed to 
have been Butler. He is described as a clothier, 
and at various times as of Dedham and Colchester. 

Edmond Sherman, of Dedham, clothier, son of 
Henry, was the founder of the English School in 
Dedham, still surviving there, and occupying 
Edmond Sherman's house, known as " Sherman 
Hall.'* Several of his sons were benefactors of 
this school. Edmond Sherman married, as his 
second wife, Anne Cleave. She was grand- 
daughter of John Cleave, of Colchester, a clothier, 
alderman, and member of Parliament. His son 
Nicholas Cleave, of Colchester, by his first wife 
Jane, was a clothier, alderman, and member of 
Parliament. He married Anne, widow of Thomas 
Haselwood. 

Samuel Sherman, a son of Edmond Sherman 
and Anne Cleave, married Hester Burgess, and had 
a son named Bezaleel, who became a prosperous 
merchant in London. Elizabeth, the daughter of 
Bezaleel, married Sir Henry Vincent, Bt. They had 
a son. Sir Francis, whose daughter, Mary, married 
Neil, third Earl of Roseberry, the grandfather of 
the present (fifth) Earl of Roseberry. 

In a memorandum prepared by Hon. William 
M. Evarts, he says, " I had made the acquaintance 
of this young Earl during his several visits to this 
country, before he entered public life, and I veri- 
fied this relationship by a correspondence through 
my and Lord Roseberry *s friend Samuel Ward, 
after Lord Roseberry's last return to England." 



ANCESTRY, 15 

Edmond 2d, son of Edmond Sherman and 
Anne Cleave, was born in Dedham, June 23, 1595, 
came to New England in 1634, ^"^^ died in New 
Haven, Conn., about 1641. By his second wife, 
Judith, daughter of William Angier of Dedham, 
he had a son John, who was born in Dedham, 
came to New England about 1634, ^^cl settled in 
Watertown, Mass. He was a clergyman of great 
ability and eloquence, and was the ablest mathe- 
matician in the colony. 

Another son of Edmond 2d and Judith Angier 
was Samuel, who came to New England with his 
brother John, and settled in Weathersfield, Conn., 
and afterwards in Stratford, Conn., where he died 
in 1700. He was the ancestor of Gen. William T. 
Sherman, and of U. S. Senator John Sherman. 

John Sherman, of Dedham, clothier, a son of 
Edmond Sherman and Anne Cleave, is supposed 
to have married a Sparhawk. He was the father 
of Captain John Sherman, or Shearman, as he 
spelt his name, who was born in 161 3, and came 
to New England about 1634, and settled in Water- 
town, Mass. He was captain, surveyor, represen- 
tative in the General Court, and town clerk. He 
was steward of Harvard College in 1660, and pro- 
bably for years thereafter. He was with Governor 
Winthrop when the northern boundary of Massa- 
chusetts was surveyed, and when the corner was 
established at Wier's Landing, Lake Winnepesau- 
kee. His active and useful life ended Jan. 25, 1690. 
His wife, Martha Palmer, daughter of Roger and 
Grace Palmer, of Long Sutton, County of South 
Hampton, died Feb. 7, 1701. His land in Water- 



1 6 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

town adjoined that owned by the ancestors of 
President Garfield, afterwards known as the 
" Governor Gore Place." 

The last descendant from the first Edmond of 
the Sherman name in England, was his great- 
grandson, Edmond Sherman of Dedham, who 
died, sine prole, in 1741, leaving a large estate to 
Thomas and John Haywood, sons of his sister 
Martha. His beautiful tomb is still seen near the 
tower of the church in Dedham. At his death, the 
male line of his family became extinct in England. 

Joseph Sherman, son of Captain John, was born 
in Watertown, May 14, 1650. He married Eliza- 
beth Winship, daughter of Lieutenant Edward 
Winship of Cambridge. He was a representative 
in the General Court in 1702-3-4-5, and often 
selectman and assessor. He was a blacksmith by 
trade. He seems to have been foremost on the 
side of the old town of Watertown in the Town 
Church controversy, in which Captain Benjamin 
Garfield was the foremost representative on the 
other side, which led to the separation of Waltham 
from Watertown. He had eleven children, of whom 
the ninth child and seventh son, William, born 
June 23, 1692, was the father of Roger Sherman. 

William Sherman is described in the deeds of 
the land which he purchased in Stoughton as a 
cordwainer. He appears to have been a farmer as 
well as a shoemaker. His first wife was Rebecca 
Cutler, of Watertown, by whom he had one son, 
William, who died in infancy. He married for his 
second wife, Sept. 3, 1715, Mehetabel Wellington, 
of Watertown, daughter of Benjamin, son of Roger 



ANCESTRY, 1 7 

Wellington, who came from England. In the 
record of this marriage he is said to be of Water- 
town. He moved to Newton shortly thereafter. 
His children by this second marriage were William, 
Mehetabel, Roger, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Josiah, 
and Rebecca. 



1 8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 



CHAPTER II. 

LIFE IN STOUGHTON. 

Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Mass., 
April 19, 1 721, O. S. In Smith's History of 
Newton it is stated that he was born near the 
Skinner place, on Waverly Avenue; the precise 
location is not known. In 1723, his father, William 
Sherman, moved to that part of Stoughton, Mass., 
which has since become Canton. Stoughton was 
incorporated in 1726.^ 

In 1725, William Sherman and John Wentworth, 
by permission of the General Court, purchased of 
the Indian proprietors two hundred and seventy 
acres of the Punkapoag Plantation, in the north- 
eastern part of Stoughton. Owing to a delay in 
the Legislature to fix the value of this land, the 
deed of it was not executed till 1734; but the 
purchasers seem to have resided on it from 1725. 
In the division of this property between the pur- 
chasers, William Sherman took in part seventy- 
three acres lying west of Pleasant Street, formerly 
Stoughton Road, which became his homestead. 

Here Roger Sherman lived till he was twenty- 
two years of age. From his father he learned the 

^ At the time William Sherman moved there, it formed part of 
the town of Dorchester. Canton was set off from Stoughton in 
1797. 



LIFE IN STOUGHTON. 1 9 

trade of a shoemaker, and he worked beside him in 
the shop and on the farm. So far as is known, he 
had no other assistance in his education than that 
which the common country schools of that time 
afforded. But he must have been more or less in- 
fluenced by the Rev. Samuel Dunbar, the pastor 
of the church which his family attended. 

Mr. Dunbar, born in Boston in 1704, studied at 
the Boston Latin School, graduated at Harvard in 
1723, and immediately afterward accepted the posi- 
tion of usher in the Latin School, at the same time 
pursuing his theological studies under the direc- 
tion of Cotton Mather. In 1727, he was ordained 
pastor of the church in Stoughton, and he remained 
in that position until his death in 1783. He was a 
fine scholar, possessing a critical knowledge of 
Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He had a vigorous 
constitution, and a fearless spirit. After the 
fashion of the day, he sought to persuade men 
rather by " the terror of the Lord " than by his 
goodness. He was frequently called on councils 
by neighboring churches, and by his tact and 
good sense was skillful in restoring harmony in the 
case of church troubles. 

He was a man of great public spirit, and during 
the Revolutionary War he relinquished half his 
salary. While the third meeting-house was build- 
ing, a period of sixteen years, he relinquished one- 
tenth of his salary. In 1745, he asked for leave of 
absence from his pulpit to become chaplain in a 
regiment about to be sent with his Majesty's army 
to Louisburg. But the request was not granted. 
Ten years later he served as chaplain to a Con- 



20 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

necticut regiment in the expedition to Crown 
Point. It was said of him, in the sermon preached 
at his funeral by Rev. Jason Haven of Dedham, 
" He was honored with long life and usefulness, 
and was perhaps an unparalleled instance of carry- 
ing on ministerial labors without being interrupted 
by any bodily infirmity, for the space of fifty-three 
years from the time of his settlement.*' His last 
public service was a prayer of thanksgiving on the 
return of peace, at a celebration in Stoughton in 
honor of that event on the 2d of June, 1783. One 
of his sermons, written in the forty-ninth year 
of his ministry, is numbered 8,059, which shows 
that he must have composed, on an average, no 
less than one hundred and sixty-four sermons a 
year, or a little more than three t week. 

In an appendix to a sermon preached at the 
ordination of Rev. William Richey, at Canton, July 
I, 1807, by Rev. Elijah Dunbar, Jr., a grandson of 
Samuel, the pulpit services of Samuel Dunbar are 
thus described : " His plain and pungent preach- 
ing, unadorned with the graces of composition, was 
enforced by a peculiar zeal and pathos, and a very 
commanding eloquence. He spoke as one having 
authority. In prayer he was much admired; he 
was pertinent, copious, and fervent." 

We do not know that Mr. Dunbar assisted 
Roger Sherman in his work of self-education, but 
he could hardly have witnessed the industry, and 
the thirst for knowledge, of his young parishioner, 
without feeling a deep interest in him, and a desire 
to help him. He must at least have offered him 
the use of his library, and given him the benefit of 



LIFE IN STOUGHTON. 21 

his counsel, even if he did not act as his teacher. 
However this may have been, young Sherman ac- 
quired at this time those habits of study which 
enabled him eventually to become proficient in 
logic, geography, history and mathematics, in the 
general principles of philosophy and theology, and 
especially in law and politics, which were his 
favorite studies, and in which he particularly ex- 
celled. It is recorded of him that he was accus- 
tomed to sit at his work with an open book before 
him, devoting to study every moment that his 
eyes could be spared from the occupation in which 
he was engaged. 

If he acquired any knowledge of Latin or Greek, 
it was probably very slight. He doubtless learned 
the meaning of the Latin words and phrases of 
common occurrence in law books. His love of 
Bible study must have made him desirous of read- 
ing the New Testament in Greek. But the most 
that we certainly know on this point is that he 
knew how to write the Greek characters. In a 
quotation in one of his memorandum books in 
his handwriting is the word " prototokos," in Greek 
letters. 

On March 20, 1 741, William Sherman died, in 
the 49th year of his age. He was not a member 
of the church. As the oldest son William had 
moved to New Milford, Conn., the care of settling 
the estate devolved upon Roger. The widow was 
appointed administratrix. It appearing that the 
real estate could not be divided without damage, 
the Probate Court, Nov. 26, 1742, assigned the 
same to the son Roger Sherman, and ordered that 



22 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

he should pay to the other children their share, 
and that the widow should have her dower therein. 
Immediately thereafter, Roger Sherman conveyed 
the land to Stephen Badlam for £\^j \Os. In the 
deed Roger Sherman is described as a cordwainer. 

On the 14th of March, 1742, Roger Sherman 
united with Mr. Dunbar's church. The circum- 
stances which led to this act are not known. It 
occurred during that period of religious interest, 
known as the "Great Awakening," which began 
with the preaching of Jonathan Edwards at North- 
ampton in 1734, and gradually spread over the 
country, being intensified by the preaching of 
George Whitefield from 1739 to 1 741. The 
records of Mr. Dunbar's church do not indicate 
that Stoughton shared in this interest. Nor does 
it appear whether Roger Sherman was influenced 
in this act by the preaching of Mr. Dunbar, or by 
reading the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, or by 
other causes. One thing however is certain, that 
in this matter he never took a backward step. It 
is probable that in uniting with the church he ex- 
ercised the same thoughtfulness and calm delibera- 
tion that he exhibited in all the other acts of his 
life. The consociation of churches in Connecticut, 
in 1 741, passed resolves disapproving of certain 
irregularities connected with the Great Revival. 
A copy of these resolves made by Mr. Sherman 
in 1746 is still in existence. 

Little as we know of Roger Sherman's life at 
Stoughton, it must have been full of pleasant mem- 
ories. He often revisited the home of his child- 
hood and youth, and renewed the friendships of 



LIFE IN STOUGHTON, 23 

early days. Six years after leaving it, he returned 
to claim as his bride Elizabeth, the eldest daughter 
of Deacon Joseph Hartwell. An ancient record 
contains this entry, June 21, 1767, " Esquire Sher- 
man, with his wife and two boys, here to meeting." 
He was accompanied by his brother, the Rev. 
Nathaniel Sherman, who was born in Stoughton, 
and who, on this occasion, "preached in the 
afternoon." 

There is a tradition in Canton that Elizabeth 
Hartwell had another suitor besides Roger Sher- 
man, a young lawyer; and that, while the father 
favored Sherman, the mother favored the lawyer, 
because she thought he might become a judge. 



24 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAAT. 



CHAPTER III. 

NEW MILFORD PERIOD. I743-176I. 

In June, 1743, the family moved to New Milford, 
where William, the oldest son, had gone three 
years before. It is said that Roger performed the 
journey on foot, carrying the tools of his trade with 
him. At first they took up their abode with 
William, who lived on a farm in that part of the 
town called New Dilloway. It is probable that, 
until he got established in other business, Roger 
worked at his trade. It is said that the object of 
his going to New Milford was to engage in the 
business of a surveyor. 

At the October session of the General Assembly, 
1745, Roger Sherman was appointed "Surveyor 
of Lands for the County of New Haven," the town 
of New Milford being at that time included in New 
Haven County. This was his first official position, 
and he continued in it till Litchfield County was 
organized in 1752, in which New Milford was in- 
cluded, and then he was appointed to the same 
office in that county, which position he held until 
he resigned it in 1758. 

The office of surveyor was more than ordinarily 
remunerative in those days. Mr. Sherman was 
often employed in that capacity by the colony, to 
lay out portions of the ungranted lands of the 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 174S-1761, 2$ 

colony to individuals. One commission which 
he executed for the colony as surveyor, in 1751, 
brought him ;^83 14s. ; and this was only one of 
a number of orders he fulfilled for the colony 
within a few years. For ten years his employment 
by private individuals to resurvey tracts of land 
which had been laid out by estimation at first, in 
New Milford, must have taken a large amount of 
his time, and brought him a remuneration that but 
few people obtained at that date. 

This occupation naturally led him to make invest- 
ments in land, and he became one of the largest 
buyers and sellers of land in the town, as his numer- 
ous transfers in the land records testify. Septem- 
ber ID, 1746, he bought of his brother William 
land to the amount of £60 in the north part of the 
town. In the deed of this land, William is de- 
scribed as a yeoman, and Roger as a cordwainer. 
In all subsequent deeds to and from Roger Sher- 
man, his name is given without prefix or suffix, ex- 
cept in a deed from Edward Allen to him of March 
9, 1749/50, in which he is described as Mr. Roger 
Sherman. In 1748, he purchased of Gamaliel 
Baldwin a house and lot in Park Lane for ;^i,500 
and made his residence there; but afterwards he 
removed to the village, and came into possession 
of his brother William's home, near the site of the 
present Town Hall, where he resided until his re- 
moval to New Haven. He was the owner of sev- 
eral hundred acres of land, and a dwelling house, 
before he had been in New Milford seven years, for 
which he paid in old tenor money ;^2,ooo. 

After the purchase of the property in Park Lane, 



26 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

in 1748, he began to take an active part in town 
affairs, and filled all sorts of town offices. He was 
in different years grand juryman, list-taker, leather 
sealer, fence viewer, selectman, ganger, treasurer 
to receive money raised for a new meeting-house, 
clerk pro tem, whenever the town clerk was ab- 
sent, agent to represent the town in various mat- 
ters before the General Assembly, and before the 
County Court. The proprietors of the town lands 
appointed him on a committee, with others, to lay 
out divisions of land, and highways, examine the 
boundary line of the town, run a boundary line, 
apply to the General Assembly relating to bounda- 
ries, etc. Donation lands were then given for the 
support of a minister, and Mr. Sherman was ap- 
pointed to lay out and sell these by the proprietors 
of the common and undivided lands. His name 
occurs very frequently in the land records as acting 
in that capacity, and these records show that his 
land work for the town, together with similar work 
for the colony, kept him extremely busy during 
those years. 

Two months after leaving Stoughton (August 
28, 1743), he was dismissed from the church there, 
and recommended to the church in New Milford. 
December 21, 1753, he was chosen clerk of the 
Ecclesiastical Society, and annually re-elected to 
that office till he removed to New Haven. He was 
treasurer while the third meeting-house was build- 
ing, for which he received ;^30. He was on the 
School Committee, and on various other commit- 
tees to manage the affairs of the Society, one of 
which was to confer with the " Rev. Mr. Nathaniel 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 174S'176L 2 J 

Taylor on account of his encumbering himself with 
other affairs, whereby he is too much diverted 
from his studies and ministerial work." On the 
report of this committee, the Society were " well 
satisfied." It appears from the church records that 
Mr. Sherman was chosen to the office of deacon, 
on trial, March 12, i/SS ; and at a church meeting 
March 17, 1757, he was "established deacon" of 
the church. 

His great business ability led to his being ap- 
pointed on various committees for churches and 
adjoining towns, and entrusted with all sorts of 
commissions which needed care and energy. As 
a citizen he engaged in every useful and improv- 
ing enterprise. When the bridge over the Housa- 
tonic was carried away by a flood, he rallied a few 
of the leading men of the town to venture with 
himself in rebuilding it, and making it a toll bridge. 
Just before leaving town, he with a few others in- 
troduced inoculation for the small-pox. 

The first store-building in the village of New 
Milford was erected by William Sherman, near 
the site of the present Town Hall, in 1750. Here 
he carried on the business of a general country 
merchant, in connection with his brother Roger, 
until his death in 1756, at the age of forty. Roger 
Sherman became the owner of the property at that 
time, and continued the business till 1760, when he 
sold the property to Abel Hine. 

While engaged in this business, Roger Sherman 
became so impressed with the evils of a currency 
consisting of depreciated and depreciating bills of 
credit of the colonies, that he published a pam- 



28 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

phlet on the subject in 1752/ The title-page reads 
as follows : — 

" A Caveat against Injustice, or an enquiry into 
the evil consequences of a fluctuating medium of 
exchange. Wherein is considered whether the 
Bills of Credit on the Neighboring Governments 
are a legal tender in payments of money in the 
Colony of Connecticut for debts due by Book and 
otherwise, where the contract mentions only Old 
Tenor Money. By Phileunomos. New York, 
Printed by Henry De Forest in King Street: 1752." 

The author begins by stating the injurious effects 
of allowing the bills of credit of the neighboring 
colonies to circulate as a medium of exchange in 
Connecticut, as they were constantly depreciating 
from the neglect of those colonies to provide for 
their redemption. This resulted directly in a loss 
to those receiving the bills, and indirectly in a de- 
preciation of the bills of Connecticut itself Those 
in favor of the circulation of these foreign bills 
insisted that the custom of receiving them in the 
payment of debts had continued so long that it 
must be considered a part of the common law. 
The greater part of the pamphlet is taken up with 
an argument in reply to this claim. 

The author insists that, as Connecticut has never 
authorized the circulation of these foreign bills as 
currency, the reception of them in payment was 
a purely voluntary act, and that, in the case of a 
credit, there could be no implied contract to re- 
ceive in payment bills which were of less value 

1 The only copy of this curious pamphlet known to be in exist' 
ence is in the possession of Senator George F. Hoar. 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD, inS-irei, 29 

when the credit expired than when it was given ; 
that whatever value the claim might have as to a 
currency possessing intrinsic value, it could have 
none as to a currency which had no intrinsic value ; 
and that, even in the case of coin, the creditor 
would not be expected to take in payment coin 
which had been lessened in value by clipping or 
otherwise. 

At the close, to the objection that, if it were not 
for these foreign bills of credit, Connecticut would 
have no money to trade with, the author replies as 
follows : — "If that were indeed the case, one had 
better die in a good cause than live in a bad one. 
But I apprehend that the case in fact is quite the 
reverse, for we in this colony are seated on a very 
fruitful soil, the product whereof with our labor 
and industry, and the divine blessing thereon, 
would sufficiently furnish us with and procure us 
all the necessaries of life, and as good a medium 
of exchange as any people in the world have or 
can desire. But so long as we part with our most 
valuable commodities for such bills of credit as are 
no profit, but rather a cheat, vexation, and snare 
to us, and become a medium whereby we are con- 
tinually cheating and wronging one another in our 
dealings in commerce ; and so long as we import 
so much more foreign goods than are necessary, 
and keep so many merchants and traders employed 
to procure and deal them out to us, great part of 
which we might as well make among ourselves, and 
another great part of which we had much better be 
without, especially the spirituous liquors, of which 
vast quantities are consumed in the colony every 



30 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

year unnecessarily, to the great destruction of the 
estates, morals, health, and even the lives of many 
of the inhabitants : — I say so long as these things 
are so, we shall spend a great part of our labor and 
substance for that which will not profit us. Whereas 
if these things were reformed, the provisions and 
other commodities which we might have to export 
yearly, and which other governments are depend- 
ent on us for, would procure us gold and silver 
abundantly sufficient for a medium of trade, and 
we might be as independent, flourishing, and happy 
a colony as any in the British Dominions. 

"And with submission, I would hereby beg 
leave to propose it to the wise consideration of 
the Honorable General Assembly of this colony 
whether it would not be conducive to the welfare 
of the colony to pass some act to prevent the bills 
last emitted by Rhode Island Colony from obtain- 
ing a currency among us; and to appoint some 
reasonable time (not exceeding the term that our 
bills of credit are allowed to pass) after the ex- 
piration of which none of the bills of credit on 
New Hampshire or Rhode Island shall be allowed 
to pass in this colony, that so people, having pre- 
vious notice thereof, may order their affairs so as 
to get rid of such bills to the best advantage that 
they can before the expiration of said term ; and 
whether it would not be very much for the public 
good to lay a large excise upon all rum imported 
into this colony, or distilled herein, thereby effect- 
ually to restrain the excessive use thereof, which is 
such a growing evil among us, and is leading to al- 
most all other vices. And I doubt not but that if 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 174^-1761, 3 1 

those two great evils that have been mentioned 
were restrained, we should soon see better times." 

A few years after his removal to New Milford, 
Mr. Sherman employed his mathematical knowl- 
edge in preparing a series of Almanacs which bore 
his name, and which were published simultaneously 
in New York and in some place in New England, 
either New London, New Haven, or Boston. The 
introduction to the first of these Almanacs, pre- 
pared for 1750, is as follows: — 

To THE Reader, — I have for several years 
past for my own amusement spent some of my 
leisure hours in the study of the mathematics. 
Not with any intent to appear in public, but at the 
desire of many of my friends and acquaintances, I 
have been induced to calculate and publish the 
following almanack for the year 1750.^ I have put 
in everything that I thought would be useful that 
could be contained in such contracted limits. I 
have taken much care to perform the calculations 
truly, not having the help of any Ephemeris. And 
I would desire the reader not to condemn it, if it 
should in some things differ from other authors, 
until observations have determined which is in the 
wrong. I need say nothing by way of explanation 
of the following pages, they being placed in the 
same order that has been for many years practiced 

^ The original is in the possession of the American Antiquarian 
Society. 

See Joseph Sabin's Dictionary of Books relating to America, 
Vol. 19, pp. 458 to 460, nos. 80,395 to 80,403, for a list of Roger 
Sherman's Almanacs from 1750 to 1761. There are no numbers 
given for 1757, 1758, 1759. 



32 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

by the ingenious and celebrated Dr. Ames, with 
which you are well acquainted. If this shall find 
acceptance, perhaps it may encourage me to serve 
my country this way for time to come. 

R. Sherman. 

New-Milford, August I, 1749. 

It would appear from the following letter to 
Nathaniel Ames that Mr. Sherman made astro- 
nomical calculations for the Ames Almanac. 

New-Milford, July 14, 1753. 

Sr : — I received your letter this day and re- 
turn you thanks for the papers you sent inclosed. 
I find that there was a considerable mistake in the 
calculation of the two lunar eclipses which I sent 
to you in my last letter which was occasioned by 
my mistake in taking out the mean motion of the 
sun for the radical year and I have now sent in- 
closed (them) with the rest of the eclipses as I 
have since calculated them for the meridian of 
New London, which I reckon 4 hours and 52 
min. west from London — I have also sent one 
of my Almanacks. I expect to go to New Haven 
in August next and I will enquire of Mr Clap 
about the comet you mentioned and will write to 
you what intelligence I can get from him about it 
the first opportunity — I am Sr your very 
humble servt, 

Roger Sherman. 

The Roger Sherman Almanacs contain the as- 
tronomical calculations as to eclipses, etc., usually 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 174S'-176L 33 

found in almanacs. In the monthly calendars are 
given the stated festivals and fasts of the Church 
of England, "judgments of the weather," and 
moral reflections. The last two pages of the 
Almanac for 1753 are taken up with a statement of 
the loss and damage sustained by Connecticut on 
account of the depreciation of the bills of credit ol 
Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The moral 
evils of such a depreciated currency are thus 
described : — 

" It is evident that such an uncertain medium of 
exchange puts an advantage into the hands of peo- 
ple to wrong one another many ways without 
danger of being called to an account or punished 
by the civil authority ; and 't is to be feared that it 
has been a means of insensibly rooting principles 
of justice out of the minds of many people, occa- 
sioning them to think that what they gain of their 
neighbor, by keeping him out of his just due, and 
then taking advantage of the depreciation of the 
bills of credit to pay their debts with less than 
was the real value of them at the time of contract, 
is just and honest gain. And others by receiving 
their debts in such depreciated bills are necessitated 
either to be great sufferers in their estates, or else 
to make reprisals, taking advantage of the uncer- 
tainty of the medium of exchange to get an exor- 
bitant price for the wares and merchandises which 
they sell for the future, to countervail their former 
loss. But is suffering wrong a sufficient excuse 
for doing wrong? " 

At the head of each monthly page are a few lines 
of poetry usually selected from one of the following 

3 



34 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

poets, viz. : Denham, Prior, Dryden, Milton, Young, 
and Pope. These are interesting, as showing with 
what poets Mr. Sherman was familiar. Some of 
these lines appear to be original. If they are not 
very poetical, they are at least very loyal. The 
lines for July, 1/53, are: — 

" Brittania's free born sons ! how happy they ! 
Under a George's mild and gentle sway. 
A king whose Godlike mind is big with joy 
To guard his subjects and their foes destroy. 
Heaven bless him with a long and happy reign, 
Subdue his foes, and make their counsels vain." 

The lines for the next month are as follows : — 

" As English subjects, freeborn, brave, 
Our rights and liberties we have, 
Secured by good and righteous laws. 
Which ought, in judging every cause, 
To be a standing rule ; whereby 
Each one may have his property." 

Similar sentiments were expressed in the Alma- 
nac for 1760. 

In the Almanac for 1754, under date of May 13, 
is the following entry : " The tyrany of old Tenor, 
that mystery of iniquity, source of injustice, and 
disturber of the peace, is now expiring, to the joy 
of all honest men." 

In the same Almanac there is the following pre- 
diction for December 2d : " freezing cold weather, 
after which comes storm of snow, but how long 
after I don't say." 

In respect to these weather predictions, a lady 
who remembered Mr. Sherman used to relate the 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 1749-1761. 35 

following anecdote which was current in his day. 
He had been holding court in the forenoon of a 
very fair day. When the court adjourned for din- 
ner, some of the young lawyers reminded him that 
his Almanac predicted a heavy rain for that day. 
He said nothing, but came into court after dinner 
with his cloak. Before the adjournment at night a 
severe storm came up, in which all the company at 
the Court-House were drenched, except Mr. Sher- 
man, who was protected by his cloak. 

In Sanderson's Lives, the following account is 
given of the circumstances which led Mr. Sherman 
to devote himself to the study of the law : — 

"A neighbor or acquaintance, in transacting 
some affairs relative to the family of a deceased 
person, required the assistance of legal counsel. 
As Mr. Sherman, then a young man, was going to 
the county town, he was commissioned to obtain it 
from an eminent lawyer. To prevent embarrass- 
ment, and secure the accurate representation of the 
case, he committed it to paper, as well as he could, 
before he left home. 

" In stating the case, the gentleman with whom 
he was consulting observed that Mr. Sherman fre- 
quently recurred to a manuscript which he held in 
his hand. As it was necessary to make an appli- 
cation, by way of petition, to the proper tribunal, 
he desired the paper to be left in his hands, pro- 
vided it contained a statement of the case from 
which the petition might be framed. Mr. Sherman 
consented with reluctance, telling him that it was 
merely a memorandum drawn up by himself for 
his own convenience. The lawyer, after reading it, 



36 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

remarked, with an expression of surprise, that, with 
a few alterations in form, it was equal to any peti- 
tion which he could have prepared himself, and 
that no other was requisite. Having then made 
some inquiries relative to Mr. Sherman's situation 
and prospects in life, he advised him to devote his 
attention to the study of the law." 

Whatever were the circumstances which first 
directed his attention to the study of the law, his 
mind was so constituted that he was instinctively 
drawn to it. He made such progress in the 
mastery of its principles, and obtained such repu- 
tation as a counsellor, that, by the advice of his 
friends, he applied for admission to the bar, and 
was admitted to practice by the County Court held 
at Litchfield in February, 1754. 

In May, 1755, he was appointed by the General 
Assembly a justice of the peace for Litchfield 
County; and in May, 1759, he was appointed a 
justice of the quorum for the same county. By 
virtue of this latter office, he became a member of 
the County Court, sometimes called the Court of 
Common Pleas, which was composed of a judge 
and three or more justices of the quorum. This 
court heard many small actions, also applications 
for new highways, or the alteration of old ones. 
It appears from the records of this court that he 
took part in its proceedings for nearly a year after 
he removed to New Haven. 

On the first day of February, 1758, a complaint 
was made by the grand-jurymen of New Milford 
before Roger Sherman, as a justice of the peace, 
" that Samuel Peet of sd New Milford, on ye 



NEW MILFORD PERIOD. 174S-1761. 37 

Lords Day, the 29th day of January last, did not 
attend the publick worship of God in any congre- 
gation allowed by law in sd New Milford or else- 
where, neither hath he attended the publick wor- 
ship of God in any lawful congregation at any 
time on ye Lord's day for one month next before 
sd 29th of January, but did willingly and obsti- 
nately, without any lawful or reasonable cause or 
excuse forbaire and neglect to do the same, con- 
trary to the statute of this colony in such case 
provided." 

The record, at the foot of this complaint, in 
Roger Sherman's handwriting, is as follows : — 

" FebV 9th 1758, Sam'l Peet appeared to Def'd 
adjudged guilty, fined 3 /, paid it down." 

During Mr. Sherman's residence in New Milford, 
seats in the meeting-house were assigned by vote 
in town meeting. The chief fact taken into con- 
sideration in assigning these seats was the amount 
of taxes paid, but age and station had something 
to do with it. At a town meeting held June 7, 
1748, it was "voted that Mr. Roger Sherman's 
place shall be in the fore seat in the front gallery." 

In May, 1755, he was chosen to represent the 
town of New Milford in the General Assembly, and 
was re-elected to that office at each semi-annual 
election thereafter, except for the years 1756 and 
1757, until he removed to New Haven in 1761. 
This was the beginning of his political career, which 
continued with but slight interruptions till his death. 

When Roger Sherman first entered the legis- 
lature, he was thirty-four years of age. It was at 
the commencement of the French and Indian 



38 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

war, and the experience which he acquired in the 
Connecticut Legislature, at this time, fitted him for 
the active and important part which he took in the 
Continental Congress during the Revolutionary 
War. 

In 1754, the year before the war with France, 
and in anticipation of it, at the request of the home 
government, a convention of delegates from the 
different colonies was held at Albany for the pur- 
pose of forming a union of the colonies for general 
defence, etc. A plan for a confederate government 
was submitted by Franklin ; but it was rejected by 
the colonies as giving too much power to the cen- 
tral government, and by the English authorities as 
likely to give too much force to any movements 
that might be formed in opposition to the mother 
country. Connecticut was especially opposed to 
its provisions that all nominations of commissioned 
officers, by land and sea, should be made by this 
central government. Although nothing came of 
this attempt to form a confederate government, 
thoughtful men, like Roger Sherman, were led to 
consider the necessity of union among the colonies, 
and the form of government best calculated to 
secure and preserve it. 

The Colonial Records of Connecticut show that 
Mr. Sherman was as active and laborious in the 
legislature as he had been in town and county 
affairs. His reputation as an advocate of sound 
currency led to his being placed, just after his en- 
try into public life, in August, 1755, on a committee 
" to consider how the treasury should be supplied 
with money or bills of credit to pay the charges of 



NEIV MILFORD PERIOD, 174S-176L 39 

this government for the expedition to Crown 
Point." In May, 1761, he was placed on a com- 
mittee "to make provision for sinking the out- 
standing bills of credit of March, 1758." 

In May, 1756, he was on a committee "to view 
Indian lands and examine and report on matters of 
Indian complaint." In May, 1 759, he was appointed 
" Commissary to reside at Albany to receive, se- 
cure, and forward the supplies for the Connecticut 
troops, and take into custody guns and other 
stores that shall be returned from the army, and 
ship them to the Commissaries in the colony." 

On the 14th of February, 1760, Mr. Sherman 
entered into a written agreement with about forty 
other persons to settle a Township of about twelve 
miles square, lying eastward of Fort Edward upon 
Wood Creek, in the province of New York, with 
one hundred and sixty families within three years 
from the expiration of the war then existing be- 
tween Great Britain and France, provided a patent 
for the same could be obtained. One family was 
to be settled on each five hundred acres subscribed 
for; and two rights of five hundred acres each 
were to be set apart, one for the ministry, and one 
for a school. 

For some reason, perhaps because a patent 
could not be obtained, nothing came of this agree- 
ment. Whether Mr. Sherman entered into • it as a 
land speculation, or to aid a relative, or with the 
intent of becoming one of the settlers himself, is 
not known. The desire of educating his children 
would probably have prevented him from moving 
his family into the wilderness. 



40 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAIT. 

On the 17th of November, 1749, at Stoughton, 
the Rev. Samuel Dunbar united in marriage Roger 
Sherman and Elizabeth Hartwell, the eldest 
daughter of Deacon Joseph Hartwell of Stoughton. 
Seven children were the fruit of this marriage, 
namely, John, William, Isaac, Chloe ist, Oliver, 
Chloe 2d, and Elizabeth. Two of these children, 
Chloe 1st and Oliver, died early. The three oldest 
sons were officers in the Revolutionary Army, 
John a Lieutenant and Paymaster, William a Lieu- 
tenant and Paymaster, Isaac a Lieutenant Colonel 
Commandant. Two of these sons, William and 
Isaac, were educated at Yale, both graduating in 
1770. The first wife of Roger Sherman died at 
New Milford, October 19, 1760, aged thirty-four. 

The eighteen years spent by Roger Sherman in 
New Milford were busy and prosperous. He 
gradually rose from the humblest position to the 
highest offices in the gift of his town and county. 
He was public-spirited, and ever ready to lend his 
aid to every useful enterprise. Conscious of the 
defects in his own education, he generously aided 
his brothers Nathaniel and Josiah in their course 
through college, and in preparation for the minis- 
try. A mature man, in comfortable circumstances, 
skilled in affairs, and with a widening reputation, 
he was prepared, at forty years of age, to enter the 
broader field and improve the larger opportunities 
which opened before him in New Haven. 



NE W HA VEN PERIOD. 4 1 



CHAPTER IV. 

NEW HAVEN PERIOD. 

Mr. Sherman removed to New Haven June 30, 
1 76 1. Instead of resuming the practice of the law, 
he engaged in mercantile pursuits. In a letter to 
Theophilact Bache, August 15, 1764, he states that 
he no longer practices as an attorney. In Presi- 
dent Stiles*s Diary there is this entry with regard 
to Mr. Sherman, July 23, 1793: " He removed to 
New Haven in 1761, and went into trade, in which 
he was very successful. . . . After several years of 
successful business in trade, which he well under- 
stood, he consigned it over to his sons, and de- 
voted himself to civil affairs and public life, in 
which he was fully employed." His accounts 
show that, besides carrying on the ordinary busi- 
ness of a country merchant, he was accustomed to 
import books such as would be needed by the pro- 
fessors and students in the college. From advertise- 
ments in the Connecticut Gazette, it appears that 
in July, 1760, nearly a year before he removed his 
residence to New Haven, Mr. Sherman opened 
a store in that town, and also in Wallingford, 
Connecticut. Advertisements in the Connecticut 
Journal indicate that Roger Sherman retired from 
business, and was succeeded by his son William, 
in December, 1772. 



42 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

It IS interesting to note that, in his first year in 
New Haven, Mr. Sherman was a contributor to a 
fund for building a college chapel. In President 
Clap's Annals of Yale College, in a list of dona- 
tions in 1 761 for building the chapel, there is 
set opposite the name of Roger Sherman £^ and 
IDS. This was one of the larger donations. Mr. 
Sherman was the treasurer of Yale College from 
1765 to 1776. In 1768 he received from the col- 
lege the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 

On the 4th of October, 1761, Mr. Sherman was 
admitted to the White Haven Church in New 
Haven by letter from the church in New Milford. 
He at once took an active part in all matters relat- 
ing to the church and society, and was appointed 
on all sorts of committees. Mr. Bird, the pastor, 
resigned on account of ill health, in 1767, and the 
Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the younger, was chosen 
to succeed him in 1769, and continued pastor of 
the church till 1795. 

The city of New Haven was incorporated in 
1784. By the act of incorporation, it was provided 
that " the Mayor having been chosen by the city 
assembled in legal meeting, should hold his office 
during the pleasure of the General Assembly." 
Roger Sherman was elected the first mayor, and 
the General Assembly having never intimated that 
it was their pleasure that he should be removed 
from the office, he continued mayor as long as he 
lived. 

The motives which influenced the legislature in 
making this singular provision can be inferred from 
the following extract from a letter to Mr. Sherman, 



NEW HAVEN PERIOD, 43 

written just after his election as mayor, by his pas- 
tor, Rev. Jonathan Edwards : — 

"Last Tuesday came on our election of city 
officers, when the Hon. Roger Sherman, Esq., 
was chosen Mayor. Some of your friends have 
been fearful that you would not accept of the place. 
But I hope and entreat that you will not refuse it, 
and this, I presume is the earnest desire of all your 
friends. If you should refuse it, Mr. Howell would 
certainly be chosen. I cannot bear that the first 
Mayor of this infant city should be a tory. If there- 
fore there were no other motive to induce you to 
accept it but this, to keep out a tory, I conceive it 
would be a sufficient ground of procedure. The 
disgrace which would be brought on the city, the 
mortification to every real whig, the triumph of 
the tories, all come into view on this occasion. 
Besides it will be at best as well for the city, if you 
retain the place, even when you are absent, as it 
would be if you were to decline it ; because the 
city court will, during your absence, consist of the 
very same members. Mr. Howell is now first Al- 
derman, and if you should refuse, would be the 
Mayor. I hope the Place will produce some little 
profit to you. It will be entirely in your way to 
attend the business when you are at home, and the 
fees will be something. All things considered, I 
hope. Sir, you will not decline the appointment." 

In October, 1764, Mr. Sherman was elected a 
deputy from New Haven to the legislature, and 
was re-elected to that office in May and October, 
1765, and in May, 1766. He was elected an as- 
sistant, or member of the upper house of the legis- 



44 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

lature in May, 1766, and was annually re-elected to 
that office for nineteen years, and until an act was 
passed making the office of assistant incompatible 
with that of Judge of the Superior Court, which last 
office he preferred to retain. 

He was appointed a Justice of the Peace, for 
New Haven County, in May, 1765, and a Justice 
of the Quorum, for that county, in October, 1765. 
In May, 1766, he was appointed a Judge of the 
Superior Court, and was annually reappointed to 
that office for twenty-three years, until he resigned 
it to take a seat in the Congress of the United 
States. 

One of the most curious documents that have 
been preserved connected with Mr. Sherman's pro- 
ceedings as a Justice of the Peace, is a complaint 
made before him by two grand jurors of the riot- 
ous conduct of Benedict Arnold and ten others, on 
January 29, 1766, in breaking into a dwelHng house 
and seizing one Peter Boles, and stripping him of 
his clothing, and fastening him to a whipping-post, 
and beating him in a shocking, cruel, and danger- 
ous manner; on which complaint Mr. Sherman 
issued a warrant for the arrest of the offenders, 
who were brought before him, and bound over for 
trial. 

Roger Sherman married for his second wife, 
May 12, 1763, Rebecca Prescott of Danvers, Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter of Benjamin Prescott, a magis- 
trate there, and granddaughter of Rev. Benjamin 
Prescott, for many years settled over the parish 
known as the second precinct of Salem, Mass. The 
second precinct of Salem was afterwards incorpor- 



NEW HAVEN PERIOD. 45 

ated as Danvers, and a portion of it incorporated 
with the town of JPeabody, where the old church 
stood in which Mr. Prescott so long preached and 
where is now standing the old house in which he 
lived. This house contains a curious little closet, 
known as the minister's study, not more than eight 
feet square. One of its sides is taken up princi- 
pally by a window ; another by a door ; the third 
by a place for a desk or table ; and the fourth by 
a fire-place. It is to be hoped that the fire-place 
did not have an undue influence on the sermons. 
In the adjoining parlor Rebecca Prescott was mar- 
ried to Roger Sherman by her grandfather. 

Eight children were the fruit of this marriage, 
five daughters and three sons, all but one of whom, 
a daughter, Mehetabel ist, grew up to maturity. 
They were Rebecca, Elizabeth, Roger, Mehetabel 
1st, Mehetabel 2d, Oliver, Martha, and Sarah. 
As Mr. Sherman's public duties took him away 
from home a great deal of the time, the care of the 
family, including the children of the former mar- 
riage, was largely borne by this young wife. She 
was a woman of great personal beauty, and cheer- 
ful wit, and shrewd common sense, which qualities 
all her daughters seem to have inherited.^ She 
was descended from John Prescott, the founder of 
Lancaster, and first settler of Worcester County, 
Mass., who was the ancestor of Colonel William 
Prescott, of Bunker Hill, and of Judge William 
Prescott, and of William H. Prescott, the historian, 

^ A genealogical table, showing her descent through Francis 
Higginson from a sister of Geoffrey Chaucer, is in the possession 
of Hon. George F. Hoar. 



46 THE LIFE OF ROGER SffERMAI/, 

Her first meeting with her husband is not with- 
out a tinge of romance. Mr. Sherman made a 
horseback journey from New Haven to visit his 
brother Josiah, then settled over the church in 
Woburn, Mass. He had stayed about three weeks, 
when it seemed to him that the time had come to 
end his visit. He was urged to prolong his stay, 
but he thought he had stayed long enough. Ac- 
cordingly he mounted his horse, and started for 
New Haven. His brother accompanied him some 
little distance, when they stopped to say a few 
parting words. As they were bidding each other 
good-bye, there rode up on horseback a beautiful 
young girl of eighteen. It was Rebecca Prescott, 
who was riding over from Salem to visit her aunt, 
Mrs. Josiah Sherman, at Woburn. Mr. Sherman 
was presented to her, and they remained convers- 
ing together for a little while. It was an instan- 
taneous and fatal shot. Mr. Sherman told his 
brother that on the whole perhaps it was not ab- 
solutely necessary that he should go home at once, 
and he would accept his kind invitation to remain 
a little longer. What would have been the fate of 
a numerous body of descendants, if Rebecca Pres- 
cott had been five minutes longer on the road, is a 
question like that which Lord Brougham raises in 
the beginning of his memoir as to what sort of a 
person he would perhaps have been if his father 
had married somebody else than his mother, as was 
at one time expected. 

Unfortunately little of the correspondence of 
Roger Sherman and his wife has been preserved. 
There is this fragment of a letter to her, dated 
May 30, 1770: — 



NEW HAVEN PERIOD. 47 

" This is your birth day. Mine was the 30th of 
last month. May we so number our days as to 
apply our Hearts to wisdom : that is, true Religion. 
Psalm 90: 12. 

" I remain affectionately yours, 

"Roger Sherman. 

"Rebecca Sherman." 

At the time of Rebecca Prescott's marriage to 
Mr. Sherman, she was not a member of the church ; 
but a few years after her marriage, she united with 
the White Haven Church, as appears from the fol- 
lowing record. "Dec. 13, 1767, Rebeccah, wife 
of Roger Sherman received into church in full 
communion on profession of faith." 

Mr. George Sherman, a son of Roger Sherman, 
Jr., writes April 6, 1894, — "Grandmother, who 
was a Prescott, took interest in everybody and in 
everything, was very clear and quick in calculat- 
ing, much more so than grandfather. I wish more 
of her character and work had been appreciated 
and handed down to us. Her influence and good 
counsel were felt wherever she was known." 

The Honorable William M. Evarts was an inmate 
of the family of Judge Baldwin, soon after his en- 
tering Yale College, in 1833. That was about 
twenty years after the death of Mrs. Sherman, and 
when Judge Baldwin, President Day, Dr. Skinner, 
Roger Sherman, the younger, and his wife, and Mrs. 
Baldwin, daughter of Roger Sherman, were living, 
and many of the contemporaries of Roger Sher- 
man and his wife. He heard the following anec- 
dote in the family, which is undoubtedly authentic. 



48 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Mrs. Sherman was visiting her husband at the 
seat of government, and was invited by General 
Washington to a dinner-party, and was conducted 
into dinner by the General and had the seat of 
honor on his right. Madam Hancock was one of 
the guests. She thought that that distinction was 
due to her, and complained of the slight a day or 
two after to General Washington's secretary, who 
repeated her grievance to General Washington. 
He replied that it was his privilege to give his arm 
to the handsomest woman in the room. Whether 
the explanation was conveyed to Madam Hancock, 
and if so, whether it tended to lessen her annoy- 
ance, does not appear. 



STAMP ACT. 49 



CHAPTER V. 

STAMP ACT. 

Mr. Sherman took his seat in the General 
Assembly of Connecticut, as a deputy from New 
Haven, at the October session of 1764. It was in 
the midst of the excitement caused by the an- 
nouncement of the British ministry that they pro- 
posed to collect a revenue from the American 
Colonies by means of a Stamp tax. Notice of 
this intended action was sent to the Connecticut 
Assembly, at its May session, 1764, by Richard 
Jackson, its agent in London. The Assembly 
thereupon appointed Ebenezer Silliman, George 
Wyllys, and Jared IngersoU a committee to set 
forth the objections to this proposed tax. 

This committee made its report to the Assem- 
bly, at its October session, 1764, setting forth the 
"Reasons why the British Colonies in America 
should not be charged with internal taxes." This 
report was adopted, and ordered to be forwarded 
to the agent of the colony in London, to be pre- 
sented, with an address from the Governor, to the 
Parliament. As Jared IngersoU was about to sail 
for England, he was ordered to assist Mr. Jackson, 
the agent of Connecticut. 

The remonstrances of the colonies were of no 
effect, and on the 22A of March, 1765, the Stamp 
Act received the royal assent. Instantly a storm 

4 



50 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

of indignation swept over the country. Taxation 
without representation was everywhere denounced 
as a badge of slavery which the colonies would not 
endure. On the 7th of October, 1765, the dele- 
gates from nine colonies met in the City Hall at 
New York, and adopted a declaration of rights 
and grievances, an address to the King, a memorial 
to the House of Lords, and a petition to the House 
of Commons. The Connecticut delegates were 
not authorized to sign these papers, but on their 
return home, the Assembly authorized the delegates 
to sign them, and ordered that they be forwarded 
to Great Britain. 

These various remonstrances were alike in ex- 
pressions of loyalty to the King, and affection for 
the mother country, of uncompromising hostility 
to any tax laws made by a legislature in which the 
colonies were not represented, and of their willing- 
ness to submit to any reasonable regulations ol 
trade. The Connecticut remonstrance was one ot 
the ablest of these firm but temperate papers. 
Besides these manifestoes of public bodies, a pri- 
vate publication, which attracted general attention 
in this country and in England, was " The rights 
of the British Colonies asserted and proved," pub- 
lished by James Otis in 1764. This pamphlet was 
thought by some, and among them Roger Sherman, 
to concede to Parliament too great power over the 
colonies. 

In the meantime, the people had formed them- 
selves into organizations called the "Sons of 
Liberty," who were determined by threats and 
violence to prevent the Stamp Act from being en- 



STAMP ACT. 51 

forced. It is a little singular that Jared IngersoU, 
who was employed to prevent the passage of the 
Stamp Act, should have been so impressed, while 
in England, with the uselessness of a contest with 
Great Britain, that he accepted the office of Stamp 
Commissioner. He was not prepared for the storm 
of popular wrath which he encountered on his re- 
turn home. As he rode on his white horse from 
New Haven to Hartford, he was followed by a 
cavalcade of a thousand armed men, who insisted 
that he should resign his office, which he wisely 
concluded to do, as he thought that " the cause 
was not worth dying for." He said afterward that 
he realized at last what the book of Revelation 
meant by " Death on the pale horse, and hell fol- 
lowing him." 

The following paragraph from the Connecticut 
Gazette shows what instructions Mr. Sherman 
received from his constituents on his re-election to 
the legislature in the fall of 1765 : — 

** New Haven Sept. 20, 1765. 
" On the 17th inst the Freemen of this town met 
here. After choosing Roger Sherman Esq. and 
Mr. Samuel Bishop to represent them in the 
General Assembly to be holden next month, they 
unanimously desired those Representatives to use 
their utmost endeavors (at the assembly now sitting 
at Hartford and also at the ensuing session here) 
to obtain a Repeal of the Stamp Act. The Stamp 
Master General of this Colony was at the said meet- 
ing when these words were read aloud, Likewise 
voted that the Freemen present earnestly desire Mr. 



52 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Ingersoll to resign his Stamp Office immediately. 
Numerous were the signs of consent to this vote, 
when a gentleman condemned it as needless and 
inconsistent after their former proceedings. The 
officer then arose and declared in the strongest 
terms that he would not resign till he discovered 
how the General Assembly were in this respect. 
T is said he has gone to Hartford in order to make 
that important discovery, and that he has wrote to 
New York requesting that the Stamp papers be re- 
tained there till they are wanted here." 

The excesses committed by many of the " Sons 
of Liberty" led the more sober and thoughtful 
persons in the community to fear that the cause of 
the colonies would be discredited by these unlawful 
acts. It was this which drew out the following 
letter from Roger Sherman to Matthew Griswold : 

Sir, — I hope you will excuse the freedom 
which I take of mentioning, for your consideration, 
some things which appear to me a little extraor- 
dinary, and which I fear (if persisted in) may be 
prejudicial to the interests of the Colony — more 
especially the late practice of great numbers of 
people Assembling and assuming a kind of legisla- 
tive authority passing and publishing resolves &c 
— will not the frequent assembling such large 
bodies of people, without any laws to regulate or 
govern their proceedings, tend to weaken the 
authority of the government, and naturally possess 
the minds of the people with such lax notions of 
civil authority as may lead to such disorders and 
confusions as will not be easily suppressed or re- 



STAMP ACT, 53 

formed ? especially in such a popular government 
as ours, for the well ordering of which good rules, 
and a wise steady administration are necessary. — 
I esteem our present form of government to be one 
of the happiest and best in the world. It secures 
the civil and religious rights and privileges of the 
people, and by a due administration has the best 
tendency to preserve and promote publick virtue, 
which is absolutely necessary to publick happiness. 
. . . There are doubtless some who envy us the 
enjoyment of these . . . privileges, and would be 
glad of any plausible excuse to deprive . . . there- 
fore behooves ... to conduct with prudence and 
caution at this critical juncture, when arbitrary 
principles and measures, with regard to the colo- 
nies, are so much in vogue ; and is it not of great 
importance that peace and harmony be preserved 
and promoted among ourselves; and that every- 
thing which may tend to weaken publick govern- 
ment, or to give the enemies of our happy consti- 
tution any advantage against us, be carefully 
avoided? I have no doubt of the upright inten- 
tions of those gentlemen who have promoted the 
late meetings in several parts of the Colony, which 
I suppose were principally intended to concert 
measures to prevent the introduction of the Stamp 
papers, and not in the least to oppose the laws or 
authority of the government; but is there not 
danger of proceeding too far in such measures, so 
as to involve the people in divisions and animosi- 
ties among themselves, and . . . endanger our char- 
ter privileges? May not . . . being informed of 
these things, view them in such light . . . our pre- 



54 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

sent democratical state of government will not be 
sufficient to secure the people from falling into a 
state of anarchy, and therefore determine a change 
necessary for that end, especially if they should 
have a previous disposition for such a change? 
Perhaps the continuing such assemblies will now 
be thought needless, as Mr. Ingersoll has this week 
declared under oath that he will not execute the 
office of distributor of Stamps in this Colony, which 
declaration is published in the New Haven 
Gazette. I hope we shall now have his influence 
and assistance in endeavoring to get rid of the 
Stamp duties. . . . 

I hear one piece of news from the east which a 
little surprises me, that is, the publication of some 
exceptionable passages extracted from Mr. Inger- 
soU's letters, after all the pains taken by the Sons 
of Liberty to prevent their being sent home to 
England. I was glad when those letters were re- 
called, and that Mr. Ingersoll was free to retrench 
all those passages which were thought likely to be 
of disservice to the government, and to agree for 
the future, during the present critical situation of 
affairs, not to write home anything but what should 
be inspected and approved by persons that the 
people of the government would confide in ; but 
by means of the publication of those passages in 
the newspapers, they will likely arrive in England 
near as soon as if the original letters had been sent, 
and perhaps will not appear in a more favourable 
point of light. 

Sir, I hint these things for your consideration, 
being sensible that, from your situation, known abili- 



STAMP ACT. 55 

ties and interest in the affections and esteem of the 
people, you will be under the best advantage to 
advise and influence them to such conduct as shall 
be most likely to conduce to the public good of 
the colony. I am, Sir, with great esteem, your 
obedient, humble serv't 

Roger Sherman. 

New Haven, Jan. ii, 1766. 

In July, 1765, the Grenville Ministry was de- 
feated, and the Whigs, under Lord Rockingham, 
came into power. In the session of Parliament 
which followed, Pitt and Burke put forth their ut- 
most efforts to procure the repeal of the Stamp 
Act. Macaulay, speaking of this brilliant display, 
says, " The House of Commons heard Pitt for the 
last time, and Burke for the first time, and was in 
doubt to which of them the palm of eloquence 
should be assigned. It was indeed a splendid sun- 
set and a splendid dawn." 

On the 1 8th of March, 1766, the King signed the 
bill for the repeal of the Stamp Act. The news of 
the repeal filled the colonies with transports of 
joy. It was everywhere greeted with the ringing 
of bells, with salvos of artillery, with bonfires and 
illuminations. The loyalty and gratitude which it 
evoked are well expressed in the following resolu- 
tion by the Connecticut Assembly at its May ses- 
sion, 1766: — 

" This Assembly desires his Honor the Governor 
to consider of and prepare an humble, dutiful and 
loyal address to his Majesty, expressive of the 
filial duty, gratitude and satisfaction of the Gov- 
ernor and Company of this Colony, on the happy 



56 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

occasion of the beneficial repeal of the late Ameri- 
can Stamp Act ; . . . and his Honor the Deputy 
governor, Hezikiah Huntington, Matthew Griswold, 
Eliphalet Dyer, William Pitkin, Jr., Roger Sher- 
man, Robert Walker, William Samuel Johnson, 
George Wyllys, Zebulon West, John Ledyard, 
Alexander Wolcott, Jedediah Elderkin, and William 
Williams, Esqrs. are hereby appointed a Committee, 
fully authorised and directed, to assist and advise 
His Honor the Governor in preparing and complet- 
ing such address, and any other address, as they 
shall judge expedient and proper on this joyful and 
happy event : . . • and also desire His Honor the 
Governor to return the most ardent and grateful 
thanks of this Assembly to all those who have dis- 
tinguished themselves as the friends and advocates 
of the British Colonies in America, on this impor- 
tant occasion, whether as members of the British 
Parliament or otherwise." 

On the 30th of July, 1766, the administration of 
Lord Rockingham came to an end; and with it 
came to an end the just and liberal treatment of 
the American Colonies of which Edmund Burke 
had been so brilliant an advocate. The Earl of 
Chatham was nominally at the head of the minis- 
try which succeeded ; but he had frequent attacks 
of illness, when men with a very different policy 
from his own took the lead. In one of these in- 
tervals, Charles Townshend introduced and carried 
through, June 29, 1767, a bill for raising a revenue 
from the colonies by a tax on glass, paper, paint- 
er's colors, and tea. This rekindled the flames of 
discontent in the colonies. From every quarter 



STAMP ACT, 57 

came petitions and remonstrances against the Act. 
The relation of the colonies to the mother country 
was discussed in the newspapers with gjreat fulness 
and force. The ablest statement of the whole 
question was contained in a series of letters en- 
titled " Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," 
published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle and 
Universal Advocate, by John Dickinson, from 
December, 1767, to February, 1768. They were 
copied into other journals, and widely circulated. 
They were also printed in a pamphlet form in 
America and London. Among the letters of 
thanks received by the author, that from a public 
meeting of the citizens of Boston was most 
noteworthy. 

This new tax was opposed, not by acts of vio- 
lence, but by a non-importation agreement, which, 
although not strictly observed, sufficiently alarmed 
the British merchants to lead them to procure a 
repeal of the Townshend tax on all articles except 
tea. This the King insisted should be retained for 
the sake of preserving the principle of the right of 
Parliament to tax the colonies. After this repeal, 
the New York merchants insisted that the non-im- 
portation agreement should apply only to tea, and 
though this was violently opposed in the other 
colonies, it resulted in the destruction of the agree- 
ment. This was followed by a period of inaction 
among the colonies. During the existence of this 
non-importation agreement, Mr. Sherman acted as 
a member of a committee of New Haven merchants 
to secure its enforcement. 

The following letter signed by this committee is 



58 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

given, though from its style it was apparently not 
written by Mr. Sherman. 

New Haven, July 26th, 1770. 

Gent. — The time is now come for us to deter- 
mine whether we will be freemen or slaves, or in 
other words — whether we will tamely coalesce 
with the measures of our backsliding brethren of 
New York who by resolving on importation at this 
juncture have meanly prostituted the common 
cause to the present sordid prospect of a little 
pelf; or by a virtuous and manly effort endeavor 
to heal this breach in the common Union by adher- 
ing more firmly than ever to our first agreement. 
There is no time to lose — and can we hesitate a 
moment in choosing whether we will continue our 
connection with those degenerate impostors, and 
with the prospect of a little temporary wealth be- 
queath infamy, poverty and slavery to our poster- 
ity; or by discarding them entirely until they 
shall return to their agreement evince to future 
ages, God and ourselves that we are still uncon- 
taminated and free? Let not our present connec- 
tion with any of them deter us : it is the cause of 
our country, it is the cause of liberty, it is the 
cause of all ; and our country betrayed, our liberty 
sold, and ourselves enslaved, what have we left? 
With what can New York supply us that can't be 
had on equal advantage and perhaps on a more 
generous footing from our natural friends and 
neighbors of Boston, whose manly fortitude and 
persevering measures justly claim our preference. 

It is with peculiar satisfaction we have the plea- 
sure to inform you of the determinate resolutions 



STAMP ACT. 59 

and spirited behavior of all ranks and denomina- 
tions among us who with one voice determine upon 
the expediency of abiding by the general non-im- 
portation agreements and breaking off all connec- 
tion with any of our neighbors who have or shall 
infringe the same as you '11 see by the copies of the 
inclosed letters and resolves passed in a fuller 
meeting than has ever been known on the like oc- 
casion. We have free confidence that our breth- 
ren among you will now manifest their sense of the 
defection of the majority of the merchants of New 
York in a manner proper and consistent with our- 
selves, for which purpose we have transmitted the 
same intelligence to our brethren throughout the 
Colony not doubting they have even gone before 
us on these our virtuous endeavors — and are, with 
esteem and regard Gent, your most obedt. humble 
Servts. 

Roger Sherman 

Tho. Howell 

Jesse Leavenworth 

Joseph Munson 

David Austin 

Adam Babcock 



Committee 



To the merchants at Weatherfield and Hartford. 

It was at this period of depression that the fol- 
lowing correspondence took place between Thomas 
Gushing, one of the leaders of the Boston patriots, 
and Roger Sherman. In a letter dated " Boston, 
January 2ist, 1772," after referring to certain mat- 
ters of private business, Mr. Gushing writes : — 

" I heartily wish, with you, that some measures 



6o THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

might be come into to revive the union of the Col- 
onies; to place any great dependence upon the 
virtue of the people in general, as to their refrain- 
ing from the use of any of the dutiable articles, 
will be in vain — The only thing we can at present 
depend upon is the conduct of the several assem- 
blies thro' the continent ; and however the people 
in general may be induced, for peace sake or from a 
sense of their inability, to submit at present in some 
instances to the exercise of, what they apprehend, 
the usurped authority of Parliament, the assemblies 
ought to keep a watchful eye upon their liberties 
and from time to time to assert their rights in 
solemn resolves and continually to keep their 
agents instructed upon this important subject and 
to renew their memorials to the King for the re- 
dress of their grievances and the restoring their 
privileges. It might be well also for each assem- 
bly to be considering what shall be their conduct 
as soon as a war commences. It is highly prob- 
able it will not be long before the nation is involved 
in a bloody war with some of the European Na- 
tions, perhaps next spring, upon the commence- 
ment of which we may depend upon their applying 
to the several colonies for assistance by furnishing 
them with men and money. It is of great import- 
ance, therefore, that the Colonies at such a juncture 
should act one and the same part. Is it not there- 
fore high time that each assembly should be medi- 
tating what answers they should give and what 
conduct they should pursue in consequence of any 
such requisitions? Then certainly will be the time 
to settle matters upon a secure and permanent 



STAMP ACT. 6 1 

footing especially if we can all agree upon one and 
ye same plan of conduct : Would it not then be 
expedient to consult one another upon this sub- 
ject as soon as possible. You are sensible this 
province by being foremost in such measures has 
brought the whole resentment of Great Britain 
upon them, we suffer at this day more than all ye 
colonies together — would it not therefore be rea- 
sonable that your Colony or some other should 
take the lead in this matter, pray consider of it and 
let me know your sentiments upon this subject. I 
write in confidence as to a friend and therefore 
shall depend upon your not mentioning this pro- 
posal as coming from me, for many reasons which 
I shall communicate to you when I have the pleas- 
ure of seeing you at Boston. In ye mean remain 
with respect, 

" Your most humble serv't 

" Thomas Gushing." 

To this letter, Mr. Sherman sent the following 
reply, dated " New Haven, April 30, 1772." After 
disposing of certain business matters, he writes : — 

" The observations you make relative to the 
measures proper to be taken to preserve the rights 
of the Golonies I esteem just, but in order to do 
anything effectual it will be needful for the people 
of the several Golonies to be agreed in sentiment as 
to the extent of their rights. ... It is a fundamen- 
tal principal in the British Constitution and I think 
must be in every free State, that no laws bind the 
people but such as they consent to be governed 
by, therefore so far as the people of the Colonies 



62 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

are bound by laws made without their consent, 
they must be in a state of slavery or absolute sub- 
jection to the will of others : if this right belongs 
to the people of the Colonies, why should they not 
claim it and enjoy it? If it does not belong to them 
as well as to their fellow subjects in Great Britain, 
how came they to be deprived of it? Are Great 
Britain and the Colonies at all connected in their 
legislative power? Have not each Colony distinct 
and complete powers of legislation for all the pur- 
poses of public government, and are they in any 
proper sense subordinate to the Legislature of Great 
Britain tho* subject to the same King? And tho' 
some general regulations of trade &c. may be neces- 
sary for the general interest of the nation, is there 
any constitutional way to establish such regulations 
so as to be legally binding upon the people of the 
several distinct Dominions which compose the 
British Empire, but by consent of the Legislature 
of each Government? 

" These are points which appear to me important 
to be agreed in and settled right, and any conces- 
sions made by any of the assemblies, disclaiming 
any privileges essential to civil liberty which the 
Colonies are justly entitled to, must greatly disserve 
the common cause. If they think it not prudent, 
at present to assert every right in the most ex- 
plicit manner, yet all concessions which may be 
construed as a disclaimer, ought to be carefully 
avoided. ^ 

" I am Sir, your humble servant 

" Roger Sherman. 

** Hon. Thomas Gushing Esqr." 



STAMP ACT. 63 

In this letter, Mr. Sherman went a step beyond 
that taken by most of the advocates of American 
rights up to this time. In the report adopted by 
the • Connecticut Assembly in 1764, in the argu- 
ment of Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island, in the 
papers prepared by James Otis and by Samuel 
Adams, and finally in the " Farmer's Letters," by 
John Dickinson, the right of Parliament to bind 
the colonies by regulations of trade and com- 
merce was conceded in the fullest manner. For 
over a hundred years Parliament had passed acts 
regulating the trade of the colonies, and its right 
to do so had never been questioned. The binding 
force of such acts was conceded as late as the 
Congresses of 1774 and 1775. In a paper sent by 
Thomas Jefferson to the Williamsburg convention, 
in the summer of 1774, there is a similar assertion 
that, while the colonies owed allegiance to the 
King, they were independent of Parliament; but 
the convention refused to adopt it. In the draft 
of the Declaration of Independence, as originally 
prepared by Jefferson, there was a similar claim of 
the independence of the colonies of Parliament, 
but it was stricken out by the Congress of 1776. 
Mr. Jefferson states, in his autobiography, that he 
had always been of that opinion, but that the only 
person who agreed with him was his old law 
teacher, Mr. Wythe. 

The opinion expressed by Mr. Sherman in his 
letter to Mr. Cushing was repeated by him two 
years afterward. John Adams, on his way to 
Philadelphia, stopped at New Haven, and makes 
this record in his Diary, August 17, 1774: — 



64 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

"This morning Roger Sherman, Esq. of the 
delegates from Conn, came to see us at the 
tavern, Isaac Bears's. He is between fifty and 
sixty, a solid, sensible man. He said he read Mr. 
Otis's Rights &c. in 1764, and thought that he 
had conceded away the rights of America. He 
thought the reverse of the declaratory act was true, 
namely, that the Parliament of Great Britain had 
authority to make laws for America in no case 
whatever. He would have been very willing that 
Massachusetts should have rescinded that part of 
their Circular Letter where they allow Parliament 
to be the supreme legislative over the Colonies in 
any case." ^ 

Mr. Adams, in his Diary, September 8, 1774, 
gives the following speech by Mr. Sherman in 
Congress : — 

" Mr. Sherman. The ministry contend that the 
Colonies are only like corporations in England, 
and therefore subordinate to the legislature of 
the Kingdom. The Colonies not bound to the 
King or Crown by the act of settlement, but by 
their consent to it. There is no other legislative 
over the Colonies but their respective assemblies. 
The Colonies adopt the common law, not as the 
common law, but as the highest reason." ^ 

In the midst of the controversy with the mother 
country about taxation, alarm was excited by the 
efforts on the part of the Episcopalians in this 
country to secure the appointment of a bishop for 
America. The opposition to this movement did 
not result from any hostility to the Episcopal 
1 Adams's Works, v. ii. 343. * Ibid., 371- 



STAMP ACT, 65 

Church, but from the fear that there would be 
claimed for such bishop all the power annexed to 
that office by the common law of England, unless 
this should be prohibited by act of Parliament. 
The following letter, found among the papers of 
Roger Sherman, and in his handwriting, is sup- 
posed to have been addressed to William Samuel 
Johnson, in 1768, on that subject, Mr. Johnson 
being at that time in England, acting in behalf of 
the colony of Connecticut in reference to the title 
of the colony to certain Indian lands. 

Sir, — We understand sundry petitions have 
been sent home by some of the Episcopal clergy 
in these Colonies in order to obtain the appoint- 
ment of a Bishop here, and that it is a determined 
point on your side of the water to embrace the first 
opportunity for that purpose. Their affairs, we 
must confess, give us much anxiety, not that we are 
of intolerant principles ; nor do we envy the Epis- 
copal church the privileges of a Bishop for the 
purposes of ordination, confirmation and inspect- 
ing the morals of their clergy, provided they have 
no kind of superiority over, nor power any way 
to affect the civil or religious interest of other de- 
nominations, or derive any support from them. 
Let this be settled by an act of Parliament, and 
such Bishop divested of the power annexed to that 
office by the common law of England and then we 
shall be more easy about this. The introduction 
of a Diocesan into the Colonies would throw us 
into the utmost confusion and distraction. For 
though it is alleged that no other than the above 

5 



66 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

moderate Episcopacy is desired or designed, yet 
if it shall not be fixed by Parliamentary authority, 
we have no security that matters will be carried no 
further. Yea, from the restless spirit which some 
have discovered, we have reason to apprehend 
there is more in view. Our fathers and even some 
of ourselves have seen and heard the tyranny of 
Bishops' Courts. Many of the first inhabitants of 
these Colonies were obliged to seek an asylum 
among savages in this wilderness in order to es- 
cape the tyranny of Archbishop Laud and others of 
his stamp. Such tyranny, if now exercised in 
America, would drive us to seek new habitations 
among the heathen where England could never 
claim any jurisdiction, or excite riots, rebellions, 
and wild disorders. We dread the consequences 
as oft as we think of this danger. Gentlemen ac- 
quainted with the law inform us that the Bishop 
is a public minister of the State known in the com- 
mon law of England and invested with power of 
erecting courts to take cognisance of all affairs 
testamentary and matrimonial, and to inquire into 
and punish for all matters of scandal ; might he 
not plead as well as any man that the common law 
of England is his birth right and that the laws in 
force in England before the settling of the Colonies 
were brought hither and took place with the first 
settlers ? What is to hinder him from claiming all 
the power exercised by Archbishop Laud and his 
Ecclesiastical Courts? All acts made in England 
since that time to lessen the power of Bishops and 
their courts can be of no service to us for it is not 
mentioned in any of them that they are extended 



STAMP ACT. 67 

to the Colonies ; and the reason is plain no such 
exorbitant powers were claimed or exercised among 
us. Now can anything less than the most grievious 
convulsion in the Colonies be expected from such a 
revolution? Will it at all go down with us to have 
the whole course of business turned into a new 
channel? Would it be yielded that the register 
office, the care of orphans, &c should be trans- 
ferred from the present officers to such as a Bishop 
might appoint? Would not the Colonies suffer the 
last extremities before they would submit to have 
the legality of marriages and matters relating to 
divorce tried in an Episcopal court? 'Tis not 
easy to conceive what endless prosecutions under 
the notion of scandal may be multiplied. A cov- 
etous, tyrannical, and domineering prelate or his 
chancellor would always have it in their power to 
harrass our country and make our lives bitter by 
fines, imprisonments, and lawless severity. Will 
the numerous Colonies who came here for the sake 
of freedom from ecclesiastical oppression, and by 
whose toil a great increase of dominion and com- 
merce hath arisen to the mother country bear to 
find themselves divested of the equality and liberty 
they have so long enjoyed and brought under the 
power of a particular denomination and see them 
monopolize all important places of trust in order 
to secure that power? 

That the Episcopal churches should enjoy all 
the privileges of their own discipline and govern- 
ment is a matter we have nothing against, but let 
the Bishop be by law confined to the care of the 
people and clergy of their own church and stript 



68 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

of all their formidable power over other denomi- 
nations, and let us be secured against bearing the 
burden of their support. But without this we shall 
look upon ourselves reduced to a most miserable 
state, enslaved to the power of those whose inter- 
ests or ambition may lead them to oppress us, 
without the advantage of being near the throne to 
beg relief, while they would be supported by all 
the power and influence of the Bishops at home. 
We have no more to object to a Bishop over the 
Episcopal churches in America, than among the 
Canadians, and provided they shall have no more 
to do with us, we only desire the interest of our 
friends that if a Bishop must be sent which we fear 
will be attended with bad consequences, they may 
be under such restraints as are consistant with our 
present happy state of peace and liberty, and beg 
their influence to prevent these evils which will in- 
evitably disturb the peace of our Colonies without 
doing any real service to religion, or the Episcopal 
churches. 

Do us the justice to assert that we love our most 
gracious King and the English Constitution, that 
we upon principle are loyal as well as profitable 
subjects and that our importance to Great Britain 
will every day become more evident and take 
proper opportunities to lay these dangers before 
our friends with you which will oblige thousands in 
America and in particular, 

Yours &c. 

The colonists had always submitted to the 
commercial regulations imposed upon them by 



STAMP ACT, 69 

Parliament; but the method of enforcing them 
was becoming vexatious and oppressive. The 
commander of an armed schooner, the Gaspee, 
employed in the revenue service, had rendered 
himself specially obnoxious by his harshness and 
insolence and illegal acts. In June, 1772, the 
Gaspee ran aground in Narragansett Bay, while 
chasing an American vessel. That night she was 
boarded by a party of men, who put the crew 
ashore, and burned the vessel to the water's edge. 
By a royal order in council, the offenders were to 
be arrested and sent to England for trial. But as 
the offenders were not caught, the excitement 
caused by the threat to take them out of the coun- 
try soon subsided. 

In 1773, the British government made a final 
attempt to collect the tax on tea. A drawback of 
the duty paid on importing tea into England from 
China was allowed to the East India Company 
on exporting it to America. It was supposed the 
Americans would thus be induced to pay the three 
pence in the pound, as the tea, even after the pay- 
ment of that duty, would be cheaper in America 
than in England. But this action simply made 
the colonists determine that no tea should be 
landed. At Charleston, Philadelphia, and New 
York, the consignees were intimidated into resign- 
ing their commissions. In Boston, the Governor 
refused the request of the citizens to permit the tea 
ships to pass out of the harbor, and consequently, 
on the evening of the i6th of December, 1773, a 
party of men, disguised as Indians, boarded the 
ships, and threw the tea overboard. 



70 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

WYOMING. 

In January, 1774, Mr. Sherman was appointed 
by the Connecticut Assembly on a committee to 
consider the claims of the settlers near the Sus- 
quehannah River. He thereupon prepared the fol- 
lowing statement of the Susquehannah controversy. 
This statement was found among Mr. Sherman's 
papers, but it does not appear what use he made 
of it. 

"As the late disturbances among the people 
inhabiting the lands on the Susquehannah River, 
in controversy between the proprietors of Pennsyl- 
vania and the colony of Connecticut, have drawn 
the attention of the public, it may not be amiss to 
give a short and impartial state of the facts relative 
to that affair, to prevent misapprehension and un- 
just censure of any of the persons concerned on 
either side. 

" There is a real claim of title and jurisdiction by 
both parties over a tract of territory about seventy 
miles wide north and south, and about two hundred 
and fifty miles long east and west, bounded east by 
the river Delaware, and south by forty-one degrees 
north latitude. 

" The colony of Connecticut claim by a charter 
granted by King Charles II., dated the 23rd day of 
April, 1662. 



WYOMING, yi 

"The proprietors of Pennsylvania claim by a 
charter granted by the same King, dated March 
4th, 1 68 1. Said proprietors acknowledge that the 
land in controversy is contained in the charter to 
Connecticut, as appears by their late Petition to 
the King in Council, and there is no dispute but 
that it is also contained in the charter to said pro- 
prietors of Pennsylvania. 

"A number of the inhabitants of Connecticut, 
in the year 1754, purchased the native right to 
that part of said land which is now inhabited, on 
the east and west branches of Susquehannah River, 
of the sachems of the six nations of Indians in a 
grand congress at Albany — which purchase was 
approved by an Act of the General Assembly of 
the Colony of Connecticut, in May, 1755, and said 
purchasers began a settlement thereon about the 
year 1762, but it being represented to the Secre- 
tary of State that continuing said settlement would 
likely bring on an Indian war, a requisition was 
made by the King to the Governor of Connecticut, 
to recall the letters until proper measures should 
be taken to prevent any fresh troubles with the 
Indians, upon which said settlers removed off from 
said lands, and in 1768, a line was settled by the 
Kingf s order between the English and Indian lands, 
upon which the proprietors of Pennsylvania made 
a purchase of part of the same lands of the Indians 
which had before been purchased by the people of 
Connecticut. This settlement of the line was in 
the fall of the year 1768, and in February, 1769, 
the Connecticut people returned to their former 
possessions on said lands, since which time great 



^2 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

part of said lands have been by the proprietors of 
Pennsylvania granted and surveyed to particular 
persons in Pennsylvania and the Assembly of that 
province has annexed the same to the counties of 
Northampton and Northumberland. 

" The Colony of Connecticut also incorporated 
a Town called Westmoreland^ including all the in- 
habited part of said lands and annexed it to the 
County of Lichfield, which is since made a dis- 
tinct County, called the County of Westmoreland. 

" The settlers under the claim of Connecticut arc 
on the lands near the east branch of Susquehannah 
River, and the settlers under the Pennsylvania Pro- 
prietors, on or near the west branch of said river.'* 

The incorporation of these settlers into a town 
clothed with the same privileges that the other 
towns in the colony enjoyed created quite a tu- 
mult in Connecticut, as many persons believed the 
claim of the colony to these lands to be unfounded. 
Public meetings were called to protest against the 
action of the Assembly, and the papers teemed with 
angry and sarcastic essays denouncing the legisla- 
tive proceedings. But the legislature persevered 
in its measures, and the representatives of West- 
moreland were admitted to a seat in the Assembly. 
Mr. Sherman, thereupon, published in the Con- 
necticut Journal, April 8, 1774, the following clear 
and forcible argument : — 

" There has been much altercation of late con- 
cerning the doings of the honorable general as- 
sembly, relative to the western lands contained in 
our charter, and many false insinuations have been 
industriously circulated by some men, to prejudice 



WYOMING. 73 

the minds of the people against the assembly ; from 
what motives I shall not undertake to determine. 
It is hard to suppose that the good of the colony 
has been the motive, when the measures taken 
have the most direct tendency to its destruction ; 
for every kingdom divided against itself is brought 
to desolation. I am sensible that the good people 
of the towns concerned in the late Middletown 
convention, have been greatly deceived and mis- 
led ; but I can't but wonder at their credulity in 
giving credit to an anonymous writer in a news- 
paper, whose character they knew nothing of, who, 
in an audacious, as well as false manner, has un- 
dertaken to impeach the integrity of the general 
assembly of the colony. But, as Luther once said, 
when he was condemned by the pope, he would 
appeal from the pope uninformed, to the pope 
rightly informed, so I would take leave to inform 
the people of some facts which I know to be true, 
as to the doings of the general assembly relative 
to the matters in question, and then appeal to the 
people, whether the assembly hath not acted a 
wise and prudent part therein. 

'*In May, 1770, in consequence of a memorial 
preferred by more than four thousand of the free- 
men of the colony, (none of them interested in the 
Susquehannah purchase,) praying the assembly to 
assert and support the claim of this colony to the 
lands contained in our charter, lying west of Dela- 
ware River, as they esteemed it to be a valuable 
interest which the governor and company held in 
trust for the freemen of the colony ; the assembly, 
after mature deliberation, ordered a true and full 
statement of the case to be laid before counsel 



74 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

learned in the law in England; accordingly the 
case was stated, and laid before four of the princi- 
pal lawyers in the kingdom, who unanimously gave 
their opinion in favor of the title of the colony.^ 
And this measure was not taken by influence of 
the Susquehannah Company, for the principal pro- 
prietors thought it a needless precaution, they hav- 
ing no doubt about the validity of the colony's claim. 
" After the opinion of counsel was obtained, the 
assembly in October last, by a very full vote, re- 
solved to assert, and in some proper way, support 
the colony's claims to said lands ; and then appoint 
a committee to consider of proper measures to be 
taken for that end, who reported, for substance, all 
the resolutions since come into by the assembly, 
(the exercising of jurisdiction over the people 
settled there, not excepted,) which report was ac- 
cepted in full assembly. A great clamor has been 
made about the assembly's suffering the members 
interested in the Susquehannah purchase to sit and 
vote in those matters ; but that complaint, I con- 
ceive, is without any just foundation. I was in the 
lower house in the year i/SS, when the assembly 
acted on the memorial of the Susquehannah com- 
pany, and then all that were of the company, were 
excluded ; and I understand that the same method 
has been taken by the house, at all times since, 
when any matter has been debated, or vote taken, 
that concerned the peculiar interest of the com- 
pany. But I don't remember any vote, taken by 
the assembly in October or January last, wherein 
they were particularly interested. 

i This opinion was given by Thurlow, Wedderburn, Jackson, 
and Dunning. 



WYOMING. 75 

*'The acts then passed, relative to the western 
lands, were such as concerned the colony in gen- 
eral ; and they could not, by any rule or principle 
of law or equity, have been excluded. 

"The assembly considered the governor and 
company to be vested with the legal title to all the 
lands contained in our charter, lying between the 
rivers Delaware and Mississippi, except what the 
Indians are possessed of; and no persons can ac- 
quire a title to any part of them by purchase from 
the Indians, without a grant of the assembly ; and 
the Susquehannah purchasers don't pretend that 
they have any legal title to any part of said lands. 
But, if the government avail themselves of their 
purchase of the native right, the purchasers will 
expect to be quieted in such a part of the land as 
will be an equitable compensation for their ex- 
pense therein ; which must be determined by the 
assembly; in which determination none of the 
company will be allowed to vote. If the idea here 
suggested is just, it will obviate the present diffi- 
culty suggested in the petition, drawn up and pub- 
lished by the convention at Middletown. 

"They seem to make some further difficulty 
about exercising jurisdiction over the people of 
the town of Westmoreland, because, they say, the 
colony's title to those lands is contested. In 
answer to which, I would say, that it is not con- 
tested, but acknowledged, by the proprietors of 
Pennsylvania, that the lands are contained within 
the original boundaries of our charter, as may ap- 
pear by a petition presented by them to the king 
in council, a few years ago. If it once belonged 



76 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

to the colony, and we have never yielded it up, 
nor have been divested of it by any judicial deter- 
mination, what can be the mighty danger of exer- 
cising government over the people who claim the 
privilege of being under the jurisdiction of the 
colony? I should think the greatest danger 
would be on the other hand ; if the colony claim a 
title to the lands as being within their charter, I 
don't see how they could excuse themselves in 
neglecting to govern the people settled on the 
lands, for their right of soil and of jurisdiction, by 
the charter, are commensurate. But it is further 
said, that the doings of the assembly will tempt 
great numbers of the people to settle on those 
lands, and if they should be evicted, they will be 
reduced to poverty, &c. But this is a groundless 
surmise; for the assembly have caused a procla- 
mation to be issued, expressly forbidding any more 
persons settling on said lands without leave first 
obtained from the assembly. As to their fears of 
what bloody tragedies may ensue from clashing 
jurisdictions, &c — exercising jurisdiction was 
judged by the assembly the most likely measure 
to prevent all mischiefs of that kind, and to pre- 
serve peace and good order among the people. 

" As to what the convention say concerning the 
title of the colony to the lands in question, that it 
is a matter of which they are not so competent 
judges, nor furnished with facts and documents by 
which a judgment might be made, and so are willing 
and desirous that the right of the colony to them, 
and the prudence and policy of asserting that 
right, should be judged of, and determined, by a 



WYOMING. 77 

disinterested assembly ; — if this had gone to the 
whole of their proceedings, they would have done 
justice to the cause, and they would have merited the 
applause of their constituents. It is a little extra- 
ordinary, when the colony has a cause to be tried, 
which all parties seem to think best should be 
tried, that those who profess to be so very zealous 
for the public good, should use every method in 
their power to defeat its success. Much has been 
said to alarm the people about the expense of 
a trial before the king and council. Governor 
Penn, in his late conference with our commission- 
ers, says that an adversary suit can't occasion 
much delay or expense. I presume it would not 
cost more than one farthing on the pound in the 
list of this colony, to decide the question whether 
this colony joins to Pennsylvania or not ; and, if 
that is determined against us, there would be an 
end of the controversy; but, if in our favor, a 
further expense would be incurred in fixing our 
south boundary, which could not amount to any 
great sum. Great part of the expense in the 
Mason cause, was occasioned by the delay, because 
Mason was not able to carry it on. But the final 
decision of that cause in our favor, furnishes us 
with an evidence of the safety of confiding in the 
integrity of that high court, when acting as a court 
of law. Mr. IngersoU, in a piece lately published 
in the newspapers, says, ' a defeat will be very de- 
trimental ; but a victory must be absolute ruin ; at 
least I think so.' But he gives no reason for his 
opinion ; and can his bare assertion make the peo- 
ple of this colony, who are a company of farmers, 



78 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

believe that to be quieted in their claim to a large 
tract of valuable land would ruin them ? I know 
some gentlemen, who love to monopolize wealth 
and power, think it best for lands to be in a few 
hands, and that the common people should be 
their tenants but it will not be easy to persuade the 
people of this colony, who know the value of free- 
dom, and of enjoying fee-simple estates, that it 
would be best for them to give up the lands ac- 
quired for them by their ancestors, for the privilege 
of enjoying the same lands as tenants under the 
proprietaries of Pennsylvania. 

"The lands in question are situated about the 
centre, as to latitude, of the English territories in 
North America, in a healthy climate ; and the soil 
is said to be generally very good; and there is 
enough purchased of the Indians to supply the 
inhabitants of this colony, that may want land to 
settle on, perhaps for half a century to come. 

" They will be connected with us, and by sharing 
in our civil and religious privileges, will be under 
the best advantages to be virtuous and happy; 
and those who continue in this part of the colony, 
may be greatly benefited by monies that may be 
raised by the sale of those lands ; and yet the pur- 
chasers have them on better terms than they can 
procure lands elsewhere ; and if, in time to come, 
that part of the colony should be so populous as 
to render it inconvenient to be connected with this 
part of the colony in government, the crown would 
doubtless be ready, upon application, to constitute 
them a distinct colony. 

" Thus I have given you a short account of the 



WYOMING. 79 

doings of the assembly, and endeavored to obviate 
the difficulties and misapprehensions which some 
people have labored under, relative to the affair, 
and also to mention some of the advantages which 
may accrue to the colony by supporting their 
claim to the lands. And, as I have no interest in 
the affair but in common with every freeman in the 
colony, nor any party views to serve, I am quite 
willing the freemen should show their minds, and 
determine it as they shall think best. About half 
the freemen have already manifested their desire 
to have the colony's claim supported; viz., the 
four thousand memorialists afore-mentioned, and 
the Susquehannah and Delaware companies, which, 
I suppose, will amount to about one thousand 
more ; — and I hope the other freemen will not re- 
linquish the colony's claim, without full informa- 
tion and mature deliberation, least they injure 
themselves, their brethren and posterity. I think 
no more need be done than to choose gentle- 
men of known virtue, integrity, and prudence, to 
be members of the next general assembly, who 
have approved themselves firm friends to our civil 
and religious liberties, and not embarrass them 
with petitions or instructions : they will be under 
a solemn oath to act as, in their consciences, they 
shall judge most for the good of the colony, and 
that must be the only rule of their conduct. 

" But I must conclude, and can, with sincerity, 
subscribe myself a cordial well wisher to the peace 
and welfare of the colony. 

" R. Sherman." 



80 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAAT. 

Such a paper, from a man of Mr. Sherman's 
character and standing, was effectual in tranquiliz- 
ing the public mind. But the contest in Wyoming 
went on with ever increasing violence, until it 
ended in bloodshed. Various attempts were made 
to settle the difficulty, but they were all in vain. 
At last the contestants were summoned before a 
court of commissioners under the provisions of the 
ninth article of the Act of Confederation, and after a 
hearing in the city of Trenton from the i8th of 
November to the 30th of December, 1782, judg- 
ment was pronounced in favor of Pennsylvania. 

Although Connecticut was thus defeated in her 
claim to this particular territory, yet the assertion 
of her title was productive of large and lasting ad- 
vantages, as it enabled her, on ceding to the 
United States, in 1786, her claim to lands in the 
northwestern territory, held by the same tenure as 
the Wyoming lands, to obtain a recognition of her 
title to that portion of those lands, about three and 
a half millions of acres, which she reserved to her 
own use, situated in the present limits of Ohio, 
and known as the Connecticut Reserve, and from 
the sale of which she has obtained the school fund 
of over two millions of dollars, which her citizens 
now enjoy. 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 8 1 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

Ten years of controversy passed before the col- 
onies could be brought to present a united front to 
the aggressions of Great Britain. A few clear- 
headed and far-sighted statesmen may have, at a 
very early day, despaired of maintaining the rights 
of the colonies if the connection with Great Britain 
were preserved. But nothing could show more 
clearly the loyalty of the great body of the people, 
and their unwillingness to sever the tie which bound 
them to the mother country, than the eagerness 
with which they welcomed every appearance of 
concession to their claims. The outburst of indig- 
nation which the Stamp Act provoked was followed 
by an outburst, no less passionate, of loyalty and 
gratitude on its repeal. The excitement produced 
by the* Charles Townshend act was largely allayed 
by the partial repeal of that act. The alarm ex- 
cited by the threat to remove to England for triat 
the destroyers of the Gaspee subsided as soon as 
that plan was abandoned. The hostility to the 
Tea Act, which culminated in the destruction of 
the tea in Boston harbor, was soon followed by a 
period of lethargy. So late as April 9, 1774, John 
Adams wrote to James Warren, "I am of the 
same opinion that I have been for years, that 

6 



82 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN". 

there is not spirit enough on either side to bring 
the question to a complete decision. . . . Our chil- 
dren may see revolutions, and be concerned and 
active in effecting them, of which we can form no 
conception." 

But the revolution was nearer than John Adams 
thought. The British ministry were determined to 
make an example of Massachusetts, for the de- 
struction of the tea. By the Boston Port Bill, its 
commerce was destroyed. By the Regulating Act, 
its charter was so altered as to deprive that colony 
of some of its most important rights. An act re- 
lating to the administration of justice provided for 
the transportation of offenders and witnesses to 
other colonies or to England for trial. To enforce 
these acts the harbor of Boston was inclosed with 
a cordon of war vessels, and General Gage, who 
was made the new Governor of Massachusetts, 
landed a body of troops in the doomed city. 

The limit of endurance was at last reached. The 
other colonies made the cause of Massachusetts 
their own. Resolutions of sympathy poured in 
from every quarter, and at the same time supplies 
were generously forwarded to relieve the wants of 
the suffering. The necessity for united action was 
at length apparent to all, and Massachusetts was 
requested to name the time and place for a Con- 
gress of dX\ the colonies. 

On the 5 th of September, 1774, the delegates 
from twelve colonies assembled in Philadelphia, 
and formed the first Continental Congress. Con- 
necticut elected as its delegates Eliphalet Dyer, 
William S. Johnson, Erastus Wolcptt, Silas Deane, 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 83 

and Richard Law. Of these Johnson, Wolcott, and 
Law declined to serve on account of other en- 
gagements, or ill health, and in their place Roger 
Sherman and Joseph Trumbull were elected. 
Those who attended the Congress were Dyer, 
Sherman, and Deane. 

The object of this Congress, as set forth in the 
commissions of the delegates, was to procure a 
redress of grievances, and to restore harmony be- 
tween Great Britain and America. It was there- 
fore determined to limit the action of Congress to 
the following objects, — a declaration of rights and 
an account of their violation, a petition to the King, 
a memorial to the inhabitants of the colonies, a 
memorial to the people of Great Britain, a memo- 
rial to the non-represented colonies, and a non- 
importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption 
agreement. 

The first question that came before the Congress 
was as to the manner of voting, the smaller colo- 
nies insisting that each colony should have one 
vote, and the larger that representation should be 
in proportion to population or property. This 
question, which created so much discussion in the 
debates on the Confederation, and afterwards on 
the Constitution, was for the present deferred; 
and it was decided that each colony should have 
one vote, assigning as a reason, to prevent this ac- 
tion from being considered as a precedent, that the 
Congress was not possessed of, or at present able 
to procure, proper materials for ascertaining the 
importance of each colony. 

The Committee on the Declaration of Rights 



84 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

consisted of two from each colony. The members 
from Connecticut were EHphalet Dyer and Roger 
Sherman. The article in the Declaration of Rights 
which excited most debate was that in reference to 
laws of trade*and commerce. Five of the colonies 
were in favor of conceding to Parliament the right 
of regulating trade, five were opposed to it, and two 
— Massachusetts and Rhode Island — were di- 
vided. Finally, John Adams, by request, drew up 
a statement which was adopted. It forms the last 
part of the fourth resolution, and is as follows : — 
" But from the necessity of the case, and a regard 
to the mutual interest of both countries, we cheer- 
fully consent to the operation of such acts of the 
British Parliament as are bona fide restrained to 
the regulation of our external commerce, for the 
purpose of securing the commercial advantages of 
the whole empire to the mother country, and the 
commercial benefits of its respective members; 
excluding every idea of taxation, internal or ex- 
ternal, for raising a revenue on the subjects in 
America without their consent." 

We have already seen that Mr. Sherman was 
unwilling to concede to Parliament the right to 
legislate for the colonies in any case whatever, and 
have given from Mr. Adams's diary the remarks 
which he made in Congress on this subject. 

The non-importation agreement, which was signed 
by the delegates, and which provided for a com- 
mittee of vigilance in every town and county to 
enforce its provisions, constituted a new bond of 
union, which kept alive the national spirit during 
the recess of Congress. John Adams called it 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 85 

"The memorable league of the continent in 1774, 
which first expressed the sovereign will of a free 
nation in America." The second article of this 
agreement was a provision against the slave trade. 
This agreement is known as the Association of 

1774. 

Congress was dissolved the 26th of October, 
after having provided for another Congress on the 
loth of May, 1775, unless meantime there should 
be a redress of grievances, and invited all the colo- 
nies in North America to send deputies to it. Eli- 
phalet Dyer, Roger Sherman, and Silas Deane were 
again chosen to represent Connecticut in Congress. 

When the Congress of 1775 assembled, the con- 
flict at Lexington and Concord had taken place, 
and the royal troops had been shut up in Boston 
by the New England militia which had gathered 
to aid the Massachusetts patriots. A handful of 
troops from Vermont had captured Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point. Notwithstanding this state of 
hostilities, and the rejection of the petition of the 
former Congress, it was resolved to make one 
more attempt at conciliation by presenting an- 
other petition to the King. At the same time it 
was resolved that the colonies be immediately put 
in a state of defence. The force besieging Boston 
was adopted by Congress, and a code of rules was 
prepared for the government of the army of the 
United Colonies. 

The important matter of the selection of a com- 
mander-in-chief now came up for decision. John 
Adams at once declared himself in favor of Wash- 
ington, but some were in doubt whether a southern 



86 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

man would be acceptable to the New England 
troops. Mr. Adams, in his diary, says : "The 
subject came under debate, and several gentlemen 
declared themselves against the appointment of 
Mr. Washington, not on account of any personal 
objection against him, but because the army were 
all from New England, had a general of their own, 
appeared to be satisfied with him, and had proved 
themselves able to imprison the British army in 
Boston, which was all they expected or desired at 
that time. Mr. Pendleton of Virginia, Mr. Sher- 
man of Connecticut, were very explicit in declar- 
ing this opinion."^ But when, on June isth, the 
matter came to a vote, which was by ballot, the 
election of Washington was unanimous. 

Mr. Sherman was disappointed in not being able 
to secure for Major General David Wooster, in 
command of the Connecticut forces near New 
York, the same rank in the Continental army that 
he held in the Connecticut army, as will appear 
from the following correspondence. 

Philadelphia, June 23, 1775. 
Dear Sir, — The Congress having determined 
it necessary to keep up an army for the defence of 
America at the charge of the united colonies, have 
appointed the following general officers. George 
Washington Esq., Commander-in-Chief, Major 
Generals Ward, Lee, Schuyler, and Putnam, Bri- 
gadier Generals Pomroy, Montgomery, yourself. 
Heath, Spencer, Thomas, Major Sullivan of New 
Hampshire, and one Green of Rhode Island. I am 

1 Adams's Works, v. ii. 417. 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 8/ 

sensible that according to your former rank, you 
were entitled to the place of a Major General; 
and as one was to be appointed in Connecticut I 
heartily recommended you to the Congress. I in- 
formed them of the arrangement made by our 
Assembly, which I thought would be satisfactory, 
to have them continue in the same order : but as 
General Putnam's fame was spread abroad and es- 
pecially his successful enterprise at Noddle's 
Island, the account of which had just arrived, it 
gave him a preference in the opinion of the Dele- 
gates in general so that his appointment was unani- 
mous among the colonies. But from your known 
abilities and firm attachment to the American 
cause we were very desirous of your continuance 
in the army, and hope you will accept of the ap- 
pointment made by the Congress. I think the pay 
of a Brigadier is about one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars per month. I suppose a commission 
is sent to you by General Washington. We re- 
ceived intelligence yesterday of an engagement at 
Charlestown, but have not had the particulars. 
All the Connecticut troops are now taken into the 
Continental army. I hope proper care will be 
taken to secure the Colony against any sudden in- 
vasion, which must be at their own expense. I 
have nothing further that I am at liberty to ac- 
quaint you with of the doings of the Congress but 
what have been made public. I would not have 
anything published in the papers that I write, lest 
something may inadvertently escape one which 
ought not to be published. I should be glad if 
you would write to me every convenient opportu- 



88 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

nity and inform me of such occurrences and other 
matters as you may think proper and useful for me 
to be acquainted with. I am with great esteem, 
your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

P. S. The General officers were elected in the 
Congress, not by nomination but by ballot 
David Wooster, Esq. 

Camp near New York, July 7th, 1775. 

Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 23rd ult I re- 
ceived, in which you inform me that you recom- 
mended me, but without effect to the Congress for 
the berth of Major General. Your friendship I 
never doubted, and this fresh instance I shall ever 
gratefully remember. 

I enclose with this the commission delivered to 
me by General Washington. You will see that 
somehow by mistake it was never dated. You will 
be good enough to deliver it to Mr Hancock with 
my best compliments, and desire him not to re- 
turn it to me. I have already a commission from 
the assembly of Connecticut. No man feels more 
sensibly for his distressed country, nor would more 
readily exert his utmost for its defence, than my- 
self. My life has been ever devoted to the service 
of my country from my youth up ; though never 
before in a cause like this, a cause which I could 
most cheerfully risk, nay lay down my life to 
defend. 

Thirty years I have served as a soldier; my 
character was never impeached nor called in ques- 
tion before. The Congress have seen fit, for what 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 89 

reason I know not, to point me out as the only of- 
ficer among all that have been commissioned in 
the different colonies, who is unfit for the post 
assigned him. The subject is a delicate one. For 
further particulars, as well as for an account of the 
stores taken at Turtle Bay, I must refer you to my 
letter of this date to Col. Dyer. I am. Sir, in haste 
your sincere friend and humble servant 

David Wooster. 

To the Hon. Roger Sherman. 

During the year 1775, a portion of the com- 
mittees on which Mr. Sherman was chosen to 
serve were the following, viz. : to devise ways and 
means to put the militia of America into a proper 
state of defence; to consider the Susquehannah 
case ; to consider the instructions to New Hamp- 
shire on the formation of a local government ; to 
consider the treaty with the Indians by the com- 
missioners of the northern department ; to inquire 
into frauds in army contracts ; to inquire into the 
needs of the inhabitants of Nantucket for fuel and 
provisions. 

The second petition to the King was answered 
by a proclamation denouncing as rebels all those 
who opposed the measures of government, and 
threatening them with condign punishment. The 
vessel that brought this proclamation brought also 
the news that ten thousand Hanoverians were about 
to join the British forces in America. 

This proclamation put an end to all hope of rec- 
onciliation with the mother country. Congress no 
longer hesitated to advise the colonies to call a full 



go THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

and free representation of the people, and establish 
in each such a form of government as would best 
promote their well being. This was substantial 
independence, though it took six months before 
all the colonies were ready for its formal declara- 
tion. But from this time on, the leading patriots 
bent all their energies to devising means for the 
successful prosecution of the war with Great Britain. 
" I am sick," said John Adams, " of the words 
mother country." 

At the outbreak of hostilities, Mr. Sherman's son 
Isaac, then in his twenty-second year, was in Massa- 
chusetts, looking for an opening in business. He 
at once entered the Massachusetts army with the 
rank of captain. He remained in the military ser- 
vice of his country to the close of the war. On 
March 26, 1776, he was promoted to the rank of 
major, and on October 28, 1776, on the recommend- 
ation of General Washington, he was given com- 
mand of the Eighth Connecticut Regiment, with 
the title of lieutenant colonel commandant. His 
record was among the most honorable in the Con- 
necticut Line, and he received favorable notice 
from Washington. He fought bravely at New 
Rochelle, Trenton, Princeton, where he led the 
advanced guard, Monmouth, and Stony Point. In 
1785, he was appointed by Congress assistant sur- 
veyor of western territory. His later years were 
spent in Connecticut and New Jersey. He died 
unmarried in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Feb- 
uary 16, 18 19. While with the army besieging 
Boston, in the fall of 1775, he wrote the following 
letter to his father : — 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 9 1 

Brookline Fort at Sewalls Point Sept. 8, 1775. 

Honored Sir, — I received your letter dated 
August 2 1 St, which is the only one received since 
that favored by Col. Folsom. It gives me great 
pleasure to hear that my friends are in a good state 
of health. Mr Dagget's stay was so very short, 
that I could not possibly have wrote, he told me 
you would set out for Philadelphia before his re- 
turn. I was appointed by the Mass. Province. 
Business of almost every kind was entirely stag- 
nated in this Province by reason of the public diffi- 
culties which rendered it almost impossible to obtain 
any employment sufficient to procure a maintenance, 
was an inducement for me to enter the army: 
but far from being the only one. The goodness 
of the cause, a desire of being an useful member 
of society and of serving my country, a thirst 
for glory, real glory, were the grand incentives. 
I hope by the assistance of the Deity I shall be 
enabled to serve every useful end, never to reflect 
dishonor upon the family or myself. The distance 
being so great, the necessity of being expeditious 
in recruiting rendered it almost impossible to have 
consulted with you on the affair. I am so far from 
thinking the advice of the experienced disadvan- 
tageous to youth, that I apprehend it to be the 
incumbent duty of young men to consult and ad- 
vise with those who are acquainted with the vari- 
ous manoeuvres of mankind, and especially with 
a kind indulgent parent, who always consults the 
good of his children. The questions you proposed 
I shall answer with pleasure. I am situated at 



92 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Brookline Fort at Sewalls Point situated between 
Cambridge and Roxbury on Charles River. We 
have no great prospect of a battle at present. They 
will never presume without a very considerable 
reinforcement to attempt to force our lines which 
are very strong : Nor we theirs. The army is very 
healthy, in fine spirits, resolute in the cause. We 
have no certain news from the British troops. A 
few deserters now and then, but their relations are 
to be but little depended on. The people in Boston 
have been and are still in a very disagreeable situa- 
tion. They have liberty to come out but they come 
out very slow, for a few boats pass a day and those 
over Winipinet Ferry only. The Generals are well. 
We have various accounts from England but no 
intelligence to be depended on. Nothing remark- 
able has happened here of late. Judges nor justices 
are appointed. But the assembly in their next 
session I understand are a going to appoint them. 
The Council at present are settling the militia of 
the Province. I should esteem it a great favor to 
be informed as soon as possible of the plan pre- 
ferred by the Continental Congress for raising 
troops for the ensuing campaign. Whether I could 
obtain the command of a regiment if I could raise 
one. There are a number of things I stand in 
great need of, which cannot easily be procured 
here but at a very extravagant price, should be 
glad if you would furnish me with a genteel hanger, 
a yard and an half of superfine scarlet broadcloth, 
with suitable trimmings, for a coat of uniform, and a 
piece of Holland. I am in good health, very much 
pleased with a military life, tho' attended with 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 93 

many inconveniences. I shall for the future take 
every opportunity of writing, and when anything 
of importance occurs, shall endeavor to give the 
earliest intelligence. I am Sir, 

Your most dutiful son, 

Isaac Sherman. 

N. B. I should be glad to know what number 
of men a regiment will consist of in the ensuing 
campaign. Mr Seevar the bearer of this will tarry 
some days in Philadelphia, he is after goods. You 
may, if agreeable, have an opportunity of sending 
the things I wrote for with his, and they will be 
conveyed with safety to me. Mr Seevar will pur- 
chase the quantity of goods he proposes at New 
York, these things may be obtained there and sent 
with his, if equally agreeable to you. 

To the Honorable Roger Sherman Esq. at Philadelphia, 
favored by Mr Seevar. 

In the beginning of the year 1776, news was re- 
ceived at Philadelphia of a conflict between the 
Connecticut settlers and the Pennsylvanians at Wy- 
oming. Mr. Sherman immediately wrote the fol- 
lowing letter to Zebulum Butler, of Wyoming, for 
the purpose of preventing further disturbances. 

Philadelphia Jan. 19, 1776. 

Sir, — The enclosed paper contains several 
resolutions of the Congress and an Act of the As- 
sembly of Connecticut. Col. Dyer informs me that 
he sent copies of the resolves of Congress imme- 
diately after they were passed to you and to the 



94 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

magistrates in the county of Northumberland. We 
have had an account of an attack on our people by 
some of the Pennsylvanians who were repulsed with 
the loss of two men killed, but heard nothing from 
the Connecticut people relative to that action, 
or whether they sustained any loss. There is a 
report here that your people have given some dis- 
turbance to the settlers under Pennsylvania. I 
should be glad of a particular account from you of 
the situation of affairs relative to that unhappy con- 
troversy which tends to weaken the union of the 
Colonies at the present alarming crisis. I hope 
you will do all in your power to prevent any dis- 
turbances being given to the settlers under Penn- 
sylvania by our people and that the resolutions of 
Congress be duly observed. You will observe that 
the Assembly of Connecticut have shortened the 
western limit of Westmoreland. I would advise 
that no jurisdiction be exercised over the settlers 
under Pennsylvania within the limits of the said 
town, if any be contrary to their mind. Col. Dyer 
and Mr Dean have left Congress, the time they 
were appointed for being expired, and Oliver Wol- 
cott and Samuel Huntington Esqrs. are now at- 
tending in their stead. You will observe that the 
Congress have recommended that all the effects 
taken and detained from any persons in the con- 
troverted lands be restored. It will be proper to 
apply to the magistrates who took cognizance of 
that matter for restitution or to the sheriff who 
had the goods in custody, and if they are not re- 
stored that the case may be represented to the 
Congress and if anything hath been taken from the 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 95 

people of Pennsylvania by the Connecticut people 
that the same be restored. I am Sir, with due 
regards, Your humble servant 

Roger Sherman. 

Zebulum Butler Esqr. 

The confidence reposed in the abilities and in- 
tegrity of Mr. Sherman is shown in the great num- 
ber of important committees on which he was 
appointed. May 6, 1776, he was appointed on a 
committee to devise ways and means to raise ten 
million dollars. May 25, 1776, he was appointed 
on a committee to concert plans, with General 
Washington, General Gates, and General Mifflin, 
for the ensuing campaign. On the nth of June, 
1776, a committee of five to draft a Declaration of 
Independence was appointed, consisting of Thomas 
Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger 
Sherman^ and Robert Livingston. On the 12th of 
June, 1776, Mr. Sherman was placed on a com- 
mittee of one from each colony to prepare Articles 
of Confederation. On the 13th of June, 1776, the 
Board of War and Ordnance was created, consisting 
of John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Harri- 
son, James Wilson, and Edward Rutledge. June 
24, 1776, he was placed on a committee to inquire 
into the cause of the miscarriage in Canada. Sep- 
tember 20, 1776, he was placed on a committee 
of three to visit headquarters, and inquire into the 
state of the army, and the best means of supplying 
its wants. 

To perform the duties required by these various 
and important appointments would seem to have 
tasked a giant's strength. John Adams thus 



96 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAAT. 

speaks of his own labors on the Board of War : 
"The duties of this board kept me in continual 
employment, not to say drudgery, from the I2th of 
June 1776, till the nth of November 1777, when I 
left Congress forever. Not only my mornings and 
evenings were filled up with the crowd of business 
before this board, but a great part of my time in 
Congress was engaged in making, explaining, and 
justifying our reports and proceedings." 

The Articles of Confederation were reported by 
John Dickinson, and were debated from time to 
time. August i, 1776, the 17th Article, with re- 
ference to the method of voting, was discussed. 
The delegates from the larger States, John Adams, 
Franklin, and others, insisted that the representa- 
tion should be according to population or wealth. 
The opinions of Mr. Sherman are thus recorded in 
John Adams's diary : — ^ 

" Sherman thinks we ought not to vote accord- 
ing to numbers. We are representatives of States, 
not individuals. States of Holland. The consent 
of every one is necessary. Three colonies would 
govern the whole, but would not have a majority of 
strength to carry the votes into execution. The vote 
should be taken two ways ; Call the colonies and 
call the individuals, and have a majority of both." 

Mr. Sherman, in this proposition, anticipated 
the compromise plan which, eleven years later, he 
suggested and carried through the Constitutional 
Convention of 1787. 

In October of this year Rev. Samuel Hopkins 
sent to Mr. Sherman a pamphlet, entitled "A dia- 
logue concerning the Slavery of the Africans ; and 

1 Works, vol. ii. 499. 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. gj 

an address to Slaveholders/'and with it the follow- 
ing letter, which is interesting as showing that in 
this early anti-slavery movement, it was proposed 
to send missionaries to the Africans in the Southern 

States. 

Stockbridge, 8th Oct. 1776. 

Much Honored Sir, — As a good opportu- 
nity presents, I take leave to send you a pamphlet, 
which I find is dedicated to the most honorable 
Congress, not knowing that any of them have yet 
reached Philadelphia. I also enclose to you sev- 
eral copies of a piece relating to a proposed 
African Mission, desiring you to make the use of 
them you shall think best. I also take leave to 
ask your judgment and advice whether it will be 
thought proper, and will answer any good purpose 
or tend to promote this design if Dr Stiles and 
myself shall particularly apply to Congress for 
their patronage and encouragement in any way 
which they shall think most proper. 

And as no way now opens to send these proposed 
Missionaries to Guinea, it has been proposed by 
several gentlemen if no way shall open for their go- 
ing to Africa in the Spring, to send them into the 
Southern States to teach the negroes there, many 
thousands of whom are almost, if not quite as much 
in a heathen state, as are the natives of Africa. It 
is thought that if they can be recommended by the 
Synod in these states and obtain the approbation 
of Congress, in making their attempt there will be 
encouragement sufficient for them to undertake it. 
The approbation of the Synod may doubtless be 
obtained. But there is a doubt whether the honor- 

7 



98 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

able members of Congress would be inclined or 
think proper to do anything in such an affair, 
should they be applied to. I therefore presume to 
use the freedom to ask you to give me your judg- 
ment and advice on this head also, when you have 
consulted with any of the honorable members, and 
taken measures to learn their sentiments respect- 
ing it as you shall think best. 

I am now here on a visit to my family and hope 
to return to Newport in a few weeks. If you will be 
so good as to write me an answer to the above, you 
will doubtless have opportunity to send to Newport 
by the same conveyance by which Mr. EUery sends 
to his family, if no other opportunity presents. 

Wishing your precious life may be spared and 
that you may be made a very great blessing in 
your present most honorable and important station, 
I am most honorable Sir with great respect and 
esteem your sincere friend 

and humble servant 

Samuel Hopkins. 

The currency problems now began to create 
great anxiety in Congress. In a letter to Governor 
Trumbull, of March 4, 1777, Mr. Sherman says: 
** The evil occasioned by the fluctuating and exor- 
bitant prices of things is very sensibly felt here. . . . 
The best way to preserve the credit of the currency, 
and render the prices of articles stable, is to raise 
the supplies for carrying on the war by taxes, as 
far as possible, and the rest by loans. It seems to 
be the present opinion of Congress that there be 
no further emission of Bills than what is already 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 99 

ordered, if it can possibly be avoided, and that the 
most effectual measures be taken to support the 
credit of those already emitted. Accordingly a 
tax is recommended to the several States, and as 
the rule to determine the quotas is not yet estab- 
lished by the legislatures of the several States, 
(which is to be done by the Confederation,) each 
state is called upon to raise as large a sum as cir- 
cumstances will admit, with an engagement to al- 
low interest at six per cent for what any state may 
raise more than its just quota of the whole sum 
that shall be raised." 

At the close of the letter he refers to an attempt 
to raise money by a lottery. "Doctor Jackson, 
one of the managers of the Lottery of the United 
States, by whom I expect to send this, is on a 
journey through New England to dispose of the 
lottery tickets. He requested me to recommend 
to him suitable persons in Connecticut to receive a 
number of them for sale." He then states that he 
named several persons in the western counties, and 
that he referred him to the Governor for others in 
the eastern. 

At the October session, 1781, of the Connecticut 
Assembly, a resolution, in the handwriting of 
Roger Sherman, was passed repealing an act of the 
previous Assembly authorizing a lottery at Hart- 
ford, the proceeds to be used for sinking $6,000,000 
of the old Continental bills. 

The severe and incessant labors performed by 
Mr. Sherman began at last to tell upon even his 
vigorous constitution. In a letter written by him 
to Governor Trumbull, April 30, 1777, he says,— 



lOO THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

" I must leave Congress soon whether they (his as- 
sociates) come or not, for my constitution will not 
admit of so close an application to business much 
longer, as I have been confined to for four months 
past." 

The following letter contains some interesting 
statements as to the work of the American 
cruisers. 

Philadelphia, April 17th, 1777. 

Sir, — ... Our last letter from Dr Franklin and 
Mr Dean was dated the 6th of February. No 
treaty had been then concluded. Some probability 
that France and Spain would make war with Great 
Britain, but nothing certainly determined on. 
Both French and Spaniards favor our cause — 
Accounts from England are that the King's sub- 
jects have lost 1,800,000 pounds by the American 
cruisers. That insurance is at 28 per cent. That 
the Ministry intend to bend their force against 
New England to extirpate them and enslave the 
inhabitants of the Southern States. There has 
been talk that the enemy designs to come to this 
city but I don't think they will attempt it before 
they are reinforced. I wish some of the other 
delegates of Connecticut would attend Congress. 
The Confederation will be entered on next 
Monday and finished as soon as possible. I write 
in haste as the Hon Mr Collens of Rhode Island 
by whom I send this waits. I am with great 
regard 

Your Honor's obedient humble Servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

Governor Trumbull. 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 1 01 

The following letter condemns the practice of 
trying by court martial citizens not connected with 
the army. It also refers to the battle in which 
Gen. Wooster lost his life. 

Philadelphia, May 21, 1777. 

Sir, — ^The enclosed letters came to hand yes- 
terday by the Post. I was in doubt whether it was 
best to send them back, or keep them until you re- 
turn here. I hope it will not be long before a dele- 
gation arrives, that I may have leave of absence. 
I understand that an inhabitant of Connecticut has 
been lately executed by a sentence of a General 
Court Martial. I think it dangerous to admit citi- 
zens not connected with the army to be tried by a 
Court Martial. The resolution of Congress con- 
cerning spies does not warrant it. That respects 
such only as are not subjects of any of the States. 
It is easy to accuse any person with being a spy 
and so put his life into the power of a Court 
Martial. I have no doubt but that the person exe- 
cuted was an atrocious offender and deserved 
death, but if he was an inhabitant of the State he 
ought to have been tried before the Supreme 
Court. 

We have nothing new here since my last. 
General Arnold is here. Congress has ordered 
the Quarter Master General to procure and pre- 
sent to him a horse properly caparisoned for his 
bravery in attacking the enemy who to Dan- 

bury, in which action he had one horse killed under 
him and another wounded — A committee is ap- 
pointed to consider what honors are due to the 



I02 THE LIFE OF ROGER SffERMAAT. 

memory of Gen. Wooster. There are different ac- 
counts of the day of his death. Some say Thurs- 
day, others Friday and others Saturday. I wish 
that could be ascertained and that I could be in- 
formed of his age. I have had an account of the 
election in the Hartford paper. A few lines from 
you, with some account of the proceedings of the 
Assembly will oblige your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

The Hon. Oliver Wolcott, Esq. 

While the Americans were straining every nerve 
to carry on the War of Independence, they were 
distracted, not only by the controversy between 
Connecticut and Pennsylvania, but by a dispute 
about boundaries between New Hampshire and 
New York. In a letter to Governor Trumbull, of 
April 9, 1777, Mr. Sherman says: "The people in 
the New Hampshire grants have petitioned Congress 
to be acknowledged an independent State, and ad- 
mitted to send delegates to Congress. The con- 
vention of New York has also remonstrated against 
their proceedings, requesting Congress to interfere 
for preventing the defection of the people on the 
grants from that State. Nothing has been yet 
acted on the affair." In the controversy, which 
ended in the establishment of the State of Vermont, 
Mr. Sherman took the part of the settlers. 

In the first week of August, 1777, Mr. Sherman 
attended, as a delegate from Connecticut, a con- 
vention of the States of New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New 
York, held at Springfield, Mass., to consider the 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 103 

State of the paper currency of said governments, the 
expediency of calling in the same by taxes or other- 
wise, and the best means of preventing the depre- 
ciation and counterfeiting of the same, also to con- 
sider the Acts relating to monopoly and oppression, 
and for preventing the transportation of certain 
articles from one State to another. 

The convention recommended drawing in and 
sinking the bills of credit not upon interest, small 
change excepted, by taxes, or by exchanging 
them for Treasurer's notes, or for continental bills 
of credit, and not to emit any further bilh, ex- 
cept for small change. The convention also rec- 
ommended that the States provide for their own 
exigencies, and for the support of the war, as far 
as possible, by taxation, and in order to lighten the 
burdens and accommodate the taxes to the conve- 
nience of the people, and the more effectually to 
establish the credit of the continental currency, 
that these taxes be levied and assessed at the least 
once in every quarter of the year. 

In reference to the monopoly Acts, the conven- 
tion recommended their repeal, so far as they re- 
lated to affixing the prices at which articles shall 
be sold, and penalties for not observing the same. 
At the same time provision was made that this re- 
peal should not operate to the prejudice of the 
non-commissioned officers and soldiers. It also 
recommended the enactment of provisions against 
engrossing, and advised that the Acts against trans- 
porting certain articles out of the State be so 
framed that no unnecessary interruption be given 
to a free commercial intercourse between the States. 



I04 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

In a letter to William Williams, a member of Con- 
gress from Connecticut, dated Hartford, August 
1 8, 1777, Mr. Sherman writes: "You have doubt- 
less seen the result of the conference of the com- 
mittees met at Springfield. I beUeve the measures 
recommended for supporting the credit of the 
paper currency, if adopted by all the States, will 
effectually conserve the end. I want to know the 
opinion of Congress upon it. If something is 
not immediately done, the currency will be worth 
nothing; but it may be easily supported by sink- 
ing the bills of the particular States, and taxing 
high and often to defray the expenses of the war. 
People in general are convinced of the necessity of 
it. Almost all dealing for common necessaries is 
carried on here by barter." 

In a letter to Samuel Adams, of August 25, 1777, 
Mr. Sherman writes, after repeating statements 
similar to those in the letter to Mr. Williams: 
" I think it will be much better to carry on the war 
by taxes as much as can be borne, and the rest by 
loans in this country, than by foreign loans. It 
may be best to hire some money abroad to pay 
our debts due for the supplies that have been im- 
ported, and to pay for any further supplies that may 
be wanted, but not to sell Bills to merchants to im- 
port on their own account. We have very plentiful 
crops ; people can now pay larger taxes, and seem 
generally willing to do it. I know no better way 
to preserve credit than to pay debts and not to run 
in debt more than is absolutely necessary. Con- 
federation is likewise necessary to support the pub- 
lic credit of the United States, and if it is not done 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 10$ 

while the war lasts, I fear it will not be done at 
all." 

Similar sentiments are repeated in a letter of 
September 22, 1777, from Mr. Sherman to William 
Williams. During the year 1777, Mr. Sherman 
was appointed on the following committees : Feb- 
ruary 1 1, on committee of seven to devise ways and 
means of supporting the credit of the continental 
currency, and supplying the treasury with money ; 
March 13, on committee of five to confer with 
General Gates on the general state of affairs ; April 
23, on committee of six to consider means of speed- 
ily reinforcing General Washington's army; June 
3, on committee of three to devise means to supply 
the army with shoes, hats, and shirts. June 5, 
Mr. Sherman was added to the Marine committee. 

The campaign in the North this year ended 
in the battle of Saratoga, the turning-point in 
the Revolutionary War. When, on the 17th of 
October, 1777, General * Burgoyne surrendered, 
General Wilkinson was despatched as a special 
messenger to carry the news to Congress. The 
messenger however travelled so slowly that the 
news reached Congress long before his arrivak 
Some one proposed that the messenger should be 
presented with a sword. Mr. Sherman suggested 
that a more appropriate present would be a pair of 
spurs.^ 

On the isth of January, 1778, in accordance with 

the recommendations of Congress on the 22d of 

November, 1777, a convention of the States of New 

Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode 

1 Alexander Hamilton Papers, v. 26, p. 104. 



I06 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, 
was held at New Haven, for the purpose of devis- 
ing a plan for the regulation of prices. Mr. Sher- 
man was a delegate from Connecticut, and was 
made chairman of the committee to prepare the 
report of the convention. This report was a very 
elaborate affair, and entered in great detail into 
a statement of prices recommended; but as the 
States generally declined to adopt it, this and 
similar efforts about the same time failed to have 
any practical effect. 

In a letter to Benjamin Trumbull dated Phila- 
delphia, August 1 8, 1778, Roger Sherman writes : 
" The affair of our currency is to be considered 
in Congress to-day. What will be done to restore 
and support its credit is uncertain. We can't 
lessen the quantity much while the army is kept 
up. I trust the fullest assurance ought and will be 
given for redeeming it in due time and for ex- 
changing gold and silver for what shall be out- 
standing at the period fixed for its redemption at 
the expressed value. The whole that has been 
emitted is a little more than 60,000,000 dollars. I 
think a period of about 14 or 15 years should be 
fixed for sinking the whole. That taxes for about 
6 million dollars per annum for 4 years, 5 million 
dollars for five years and four million dollars per 
annum for the residue of the period should be im- 
mediately laid to be collected as a sinking fund 
with liberty for each State to raise more than their 
annual quota and be allowed 6 per cent interest 
for the time they may anticipate the payment. 
That each of the States that have not called in 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 107 

their Bills do it immediately and refrain from further 
emissions and tax themselves for current expenses. 
Besides liberty may be given for the people to 
bring in as many of the Bills as they please into 
loan offices, with assurance that the whole that is 
brought in shall be burnt. That all unnecessary 
expenses be retrenched and the best economy in- 
troduced. That the future expense of the war be 
defrayed as far as may be by taxes and the residue 
by emissions — and if the war ceases this year, 
which I think not improbable, our finances may 
soon be put on a good footing. Provision ought to 
be made in the meantime by each State to prevent 
injustice to creditors and salary men." 

On the 15th of October, 1778, Roger Sherman 
wrote to Governor Trumbull as follows : — 

" The affair of finance is yet unfinished. The for- 
mation of a Board of Treasury is determined on but 
the officers are not yet appointed. To-morrow is 
assigned for their nomination. The members of 
Congress are united in the great object of securing 
the liberties and independence of the States ; but 
are sometimes divided in opinion about particular 
measures. The Assembly of New York in their 
late session did not ratify the Confederation, nor 
has it been done by Maryland and Delaware 
States. These and some other of the States are 
dissatisfied that the western ungranted lands should 
be claimed by particular States, which they think 
ought to be the common interest of the United 
States, they being defended at the common ex- 
pense. They further say that if some provision is 
not now made for securing lands for the troops who 



I08 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

serve during the war, they shall have to pay large 
sums to the States who claim the vacant lands to 
supply their quotas of the troops. Perhaps if the 
Assembly of Connecticut should resolve to make 
grants to their own troops and those raised by the 
State of Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and 
Maryland in the lands south of Lake Erie and 
west of the land in controversy with Pennsylvania, 
free of any purchase money or quit rents to the 
Government of Connecticut, it might be satisfac- 
tory to those States, and be no damage to the 
State of Connecticut. A tract of thirty miles east 
and west across the State would be sufficient for 
the purpose, and that being settled under good 
regulations would enhance the value of the rest ; 
these would not be claimed as Crown lands, both 
the fee and jurisdiction having been granted to the 
Governor and Company of Connecticut. 

" Roger Sherman." 

During the year 1778, Mr. Sherman was ap- 
pointed on a committee of three on instructions to 
commissioners to foreign courts ; on a committee 
of five to consider the report of the committee on 
finance ; on committee of three on plan for pro- 
curing reinforcements to supply the place of men 
whose term of service would expire in the winter. 

On the 1 2th of October, 1778, Congress passed 
resolutions recommending the States to suppress 
theatres, horse-racing, gaming, etc., and that the 
army officers discountenance profaneness and vice 
among the soldiers. On the i6th of October, 1778, 
Congress passed a vote that no actor or encourager 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 109 

of plays should hold office under the United 
States. 

The attempt of certain New Hampshire towns to 
withdraw from the jurisdiction of that State called 
forth the following patriotic letter from Mr. 
Sherman to Elisha Paine, October 31, 1778: — 

Sir, — I take the liberty to address you on a 
subject which to me appears to be of a very danger- 
ous and alarming nature. I am informed that the 
inhabitants in a number of towns in the State of 
New Hampshire on the east side of the Connecticut 
river, have withdrawn from the jurisdiction of that 
State and joined with the people on the grants on 
the west side of the river in forming a distinct State. 
The strength of the United States lies in their 
union. Their joint efforts under the smiles of 
Divine Providence have made a successful resist- 
ance to the power of Great Britain aided by 
foreign mercenaries ; but if intestine divisions and 
contentions take place among them, will they not 
become an easy prey to a formidable enemy? I 
shall give no opinion in the case of the people on 
the New Hampshire grants upon the west side of 
Connecticut river, whether the States of New York 
or New Hampshire have the best right of jurisdic- 
tion over them or whether in case they belong to 
New Hampshire, and that State neglected to claim 
and support their jurisdiction in opposition to the 
claim of New York, it gave the people a right to 
form themselves into a distinct State, as these ques- 
tions I suppose must at a proper time have a judi- 
cial determination. But for the people inhabiting 



no THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

within the known and acknowledged boundaries of 
any of the United States, to separate without the 
consent of the State to which they belong appears 
to me a very unjustifiable violation of the social 
compact, and pregnant with the most ruinous con- 
sequences. Sir, I don't know whether you live in 
one of the revolted towns, but as you are in that 
vicinity, I trust from acquaintance jivith your love 
of order and regard to the welfare of your country, 
you will use your influence to discourage every- 
thing that in your opinion may be prejudicial to 
the true interests of these States. If the present 
constitution of any of the States is not so perfect 
as could be wished, it may and probably will, by 
common consent be amended ; but in present cir- 
cumstances it appears to me indispensably neces- 
sary that civil government should be vigorously 
supported. 

I hope you will excuse the freedom I have taken 
on this occasion, as my sole motive is the public 
good. I am, with great esteem and regard. 
Your humble servant 

Roger Sherman. 

During the year 1779, Mr. Sherman was chosen 
on the following committees, viz. : on Indian affairs ; 
to consider the report of the Board of Treasury on 
finance; on the treasury; to devise further ways 
and means for supplying the treasury. 

On the 23d of June, 1780, he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the Treasury Board. During the year 1780, 
he was also chosen on the following committees, 
viz. : on the western frontiers ; to estimate the ex- 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, III 

penses of the present and the ensuing year, and to 
make provision for the same ; on the instructions 
of Maryland to its delegates about the Act of 
Confederation. 

During the year 1780, Mr. Sherman wrote the 
following letters to Governor Trumbull on the 
subject of the finances. 

Philadelphia, July 22d, 1780. 

... I am sorry that the State of Connecticut 
have had occasion to emit so large a sum in Bills 
of Credit previous to their being furnished with 
the bills prepared by order of Congress, but am 
glad to hear that they have laid so large a tax to 
be paid in the new bills. I esteem that to be a 
very wise measure, to introduce the bills into cir- 
culation with full credit, and ought to be imitated 
by all the other States. I am fully persuaded that 
no way can be devised, in our circumstances, to 
support the value of a paper currency, but by tax- 
ing to the full amount of our expenditures after 
having emitted a sufficient sum for a medium of 
trade, which is limited by the resolution of Con- 
gress to ten millions of dollars for the thirteen 
States, and if the particular States extend their 
emission beyond their quotas of that sum, it will 
in my opinion give a fatal blow to the credit of the 
whole paper currency, and involve us in worse evils 
than we have heretofore experienced ; therefore I 
think that no supposed necessity, or other consid- 
eration whatever, should induce any State in the 
least degree to exceed the limit fixed by the United 
States, by the resolution of the i8th of March last. 



112 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

I am sensible that it was necessary to make some 
state emissions, before those Bills were prepared, 
but then I think they should be considered as part 
of their quotas of the ten million dollars. The 
resources of this Country are great, and may be 
drawn out in so equable a manner by the wisdom 
of the Legislatures of the several States as fully to 
answer the exigencies of our affairs, without being 
very burthensome to the people. It may be neces- 
sary to run in debt for some foreign articles, but 
I think not for any that are to be procured in this 
Country. 

Philadelphia, July 22d, 1780. 
... It is with concern we observe the exi- 
gencies of the Public have been such as obliged 
our State to issue large emissions of Paper Bills, 
which with what will issue in pursuance of the res- 
olution of the 1 8th of March last, may endanger 
the public credit. The only way to avoid this evil 
is speedily to draw in those bills by taxes, and not 
suffer them on any account to reissue. Paper 
money does its office when it goes out in payment, 
and ought to be among the people as a medium of 
trade, no longer than to find its way into their 
pockets, and, like private security, should be de- 
stroyed when returned into the office it issued from. 
This is doing business in sight of the people, and 
every man who pays his tax knows he does it [in] 
discharge of much of his public debt. But to me, 
[to] issue bills taken in by loans and taxes, ac- 
cumulates the public debt in a way not open to 
the inspection of the people. They see the bills 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. II3 

are not redeemed, and are told they never will be. 
The credit of the State is scrupled and depreciation 
ensues. The people lose their confidence in Gov- 
ernment. The laws are enervated, military opera- 
tions prevented, justice impeded, trade embarrassed, 
the morals of the people corrupted, men of integ- 
rity in office abused and resigning, whilst pecula- 
tors ride in coaches. These evils and the sources 
from whence they arise, so lately experienced, all 
serve to point out the way to avoid them in future. 
The design of Congress in limiting the amount of 
circulating bills within the United States will be 
wholly defeated by emissions from particular States, 
unless their amount is limited within the bound, 
and issued in lieu of the quotas assigned by Con- 
gress, and be in fact drawn in before the general 
currency issues. 

Philadelphia, Aug. 22, 1780. 

... If every State would tax themselves to 
the extent of their abilities, relieving the poor as 
far as possible, we should find it the best resource 
in our power to obtain supplies, and save the Con- 
tinent from that enthralment of debt which may be 
expected from loans. This doctrine, though trite, 
is no less important than true, and deserves the 
most serious attention. The current expenses of 
the war are chiefly of our own services, provisions, 
and manufactures, which do not much exceed our 
annual exports in time of peace. This alone is 
demonstration that our internal resources are nearly 
equal to our necessities and might with proper man- 
agement be so applied as to prevent an enormous 

8 



114 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

national debt to foreigners, who may hereafter claim 
the honor and merit of our whole salvation as due to 
them, and surprise us with unexpected demands. 

The news of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis 
was sent to Governor Trumbull in the following 
letter by Mr. Sherman and Mr. Law. 

Philadelphia, Oct. 25th, 1781. 
Sir, — We have the honor now to transmit to 
your Excellency an official account of the sur- 
render of Lord Cornwallis and the army under his 
command. The dispatches from General Wash- 
ington were received yesterday morning, and at 
two o*clock in the afternoon Congress went in a 
body to the Lutheran Church where Divine ser- 
vice, suitable to the occasion, was performed by 
the Rev. Mr. Duffield, one of the chaplains of 
Congress. The Supreme Executive Council and 
Assembly of this State, the Minister of France and 
his Secretary, and a great number of the citizens 
attended. In the evening the city was illuminated. 
This great event, we hope, will prove a happy 
presage of a complete reduction of the British 
forces in these States, and prepare the way for the 
establishment of an honorable peace. 

Mr. Sherman was continued in Congress, by an- 
nual election, from September, 1774, to November, 
1 78 1. On October 13, 1783, he was again elected 
for another year, making eight years of service in 
the Continental Congress. 

In May, 1783, Mr. Sherman and Richard Law, 
Sherman's associate on the bench of the Superior 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. I15 

Court, were appointed, by the General Assem- 
bly of Connecticut, a committee " to revise the 
Statute Laws of this State, and make such altera- 
tions, additions, exclusions, and amendments, as 
they shall judge proper and expedient, collecting 
together into one all the statutes that have been 
made upon the same subject, reducing the whole 
into one regular system or code, in alphabetical 
order, and lay the same as soon as possible before 
the General Assembly." 

This work was completed and laid before the 
General Assembly at its October session, 1783. 
At this session the same committee was directed 
" to continue to revise the laws of this State here- 
tofore in force, to form a memorandum or table of 
such variations, abridgements, or enlargements, as 
they may think convenient, and lay the same be- 
fore this Assembly, at their next meeting." This 
final revision was adopted by the General Assembly 
at an adjourned session, held for that purpose, at 
New Haven, January 8, 1784. 

The following is a letter from Mr. Sherman to 
Mr. Law on the subject of the revision of the laws 
of Connecticut. 

New Haven, July 25th, 1783. 

Dear Sir, — I received your letter with the 
last laws enclosed. I have now taken the whole of 
the act in Page 235 into my code ; the first and last 
paragraphs cover civil actions and the residue with 
some additions, under the head of bail, which I 
have endeavored to regulate both in civil and 
criminal cases. I insert the act Page 608, next 



Il6 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

after the laws for settling testate and intestate es- 
tates, omitting the words, that respect future confis- 
cations. 

The maintaining the Light-house I have left for 
you. Perhaps it may come under the head of 
Ships or shipping. I have now completed my 
part of the laws, except a few blanks left for your 
opinion. I sent you a list of those I had then de- 
termined to take on. I don't know but I have in- 
cluded some others since. I have taken in under 
the head of Foreigners, four acts, viz : To prevent 
mischief. Infractions of the Law of Nations — 
Rendering speedy justice to those in alliance, and 
To prevent their holding lands. I have taken the 
Scale Act, and whatever concerns depreciation, 
and everything relating to dissenters. I think it 
would be well to make some additions to the Laws 
respecting Societies for regulating several Societies 
within the same bounds, of which I send a sketch. 

I don't hear of the arrival of the Definite Treaty. 
I should not think it best to call the Assembly un- 
til that is received, with the recommendation of 
Congress upon it. 

I have looked over the remaining Laws and ar- 
ranged them as follows, that you may see which I 
have not taken. Mine contains 98 laws (those 
under the Title Lands but one) though containing 
several additions. 

When you have arranged and revised your part, 
it will be best for us to meet and inspect the 
whole. I am sir, with esteem and respect. 
Your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. II7 

P. S. I have added a clause in the act for 
regulating civil actions concerning joint contracts 
that serving the process on those who belong to 
this State, shall be sufficient notice to obtain judg- 
ment against all. Then follow some remarks about 
the regulation of New Gate prison and the List of 
Laws referred to in the above letter. 

Copies of some of these laws having been sent 
to John Dickinson, he wrote the following letter of 
acknowledgment : — 

Sir, — I feel myself indebted to you for your 
obliging politeness in furnishing me with copies of 
some of your laws; and I was sincerely sorry, 
that indisposition prevented me from presenting in 
person the thanks, which I now beg, you will be 
pleased to accept. 

When you return to the Northward, I hope, I 
shall have the pleasure of seeing you, and should 
much regret your passing through this City, with- 
out my having that satisfaction. With great and 
sincere esteem, I am. Sir, 

Your most obedient and much obliged, 

humble servant, 

John Dickinson. 

Philadelphia, January isth, 1784. 

The Honorable Roger Sherman, Esquire. 

In January, 1784, Roger Sherman and James 
Wadsworth were authorized to convey to the 
United States all the land claimed by Connecticut 
lying westward of the west line of Pennsylvania, 
excepting a certain tract reserved for the use of 



Il8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

the State, and '^ to satisfy the officers and privates 
in the Connecticut Line of the Continental army 
the lands to which they are entitled by the Re- 
solves of Congress." 

On the 20th of January, 1784, Mr. Sherman 
wrote to Lyman Hall, the Governor of Georgia, 
the following account of the ratification of the 
treaty of peace, and the necessity of an impost tax 
to support the credit of government. 

Annapolis, 20th of January, 1784. 

Sir, — I sincerely congratulate you upon the 
return of peace, whereby the rights we have long 
contended for are fully established, on very honor- 
able and beneficial terms. 

The definitive treaty of peace between Great 
Britain and the United States was ratified in Con- 
gress last week, and the ratification forwarded to 
New York to go by a French packet which was to 
sail this day. It was unanimously ratified by nine 
States, no more being represented. A proclama- 
tion and recommendations pursuant thereto have 
been agreed to, and ordered to be forwarded to the 
several States by the Secretary. There are but 
eight States now represented, one of the members 
from Delaware went home last Saturday, on ac- 
count of sickness in his family. There are several 
important matters to be transacted interesting to 
all the States. I hope that members will come on 
from Georgia as soon as possible. The impost on 
foreign goods recommended by Congress for rais- 
ing a revenue for payment of the interest of the 
money borrowed on the credit of the United States, 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 1 19 

IS fully complied with by the States of Massachu- 
setts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- 
land and Virginia; New Hampshire has likewise 
agreed to it in a committee of the whole, but the 
act was not completed when the delegates from 
that State came away. The Assemblies of Con- 
necticut and New York are now sitting. Congress 
are in hopes to adjourn by the first of May, and 
have a recess till next fall, in case all the States 
transmit their act for enabling Congress to levy 
and collect the duties personally for them to make 
an ordinance for carrying it into effect, that being 
a matter of the utmost importance for supporting 
the national credit of the United States, and doing 
justice to the public creditors both at home and in 
Europe ; and I apprehend it will be impracticable 
to raise a sufficient revenue in the ordinary way of 
taxing. Raising money by imposts takes it at the 
fountain head and the consumer pays it insensibly 
and without murmuring. I wish the result of your 
State on that requisition may be transmitted as 
soon as possible. The disposition and settlement 
of the western territory is another object that will 
come under the consideration of Congress. The 
State of Virginia has ceded to the United States all 
the lands claimed by that State northwest of the 
Ohio on terms acceptable to Congress. Enclosed 
is a copy of the act of Massachusetts for enabling 
Congress to levy an impost which I think is well 
guarded. I have also enclosed a letter from Gov- 
ernor Trumbull on public service. I am with 
great esteem and respect. 

Your humble servant 

Roger Sherman. 



I20 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

The following letter from Benjamin Huntington 
to Roger Sherman gives an account of the adop- 
tion of the Revised Laws, and of the election of 
Mr. Sherman as Mayor of New Haven. 

New Haven, Feb. nth, 1784. 

Honored Sir, — I have been so happy as to 
board at your house since the session of assembly 
which rises this day having finished the revisal of 
the Laws with some alteration from the draughts 
made by the committee. Where the committee's 
alterations were not agreed to, the old Statutes are 
to stand as in time passed. The pay of the Su- 
preme Court is not raised nor any alteration in 
Court or Counties excepting Colchester which is 
annexed [to] New London County. The impost not 
yet granted but much nearer to it than in October. 
The people at large begin to see their interest in 
the measure and I hope that by the May next they 
will be undeceived ; about one third of the lower 
house are in favor of it now. 

The New Haven and New London City bills are 
passed and the freemen of the city of New Haven 
are now in the upper house of the State house 
choosing their City magistrates and have made 
choice of a member of Congress for the Mayor 
and Deacon Howell, Deacon Bishop, Deacon Aus- 
tin and Mr Isaac Beers are chosen Aldermen. 
Your little son, Oliver, hearing that his Papa was 
chosen Mayor was concerned and inquired who 
was to ride the Mare? 

Mrs Sherman received some addresses on the 
subject of the election and by way of answer has 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 121 

fed some hungrybollies whilst others wanted money 
to buy powder to fire in honor of the Lord Mayor 
elect. Thus the emoluments of office are felt by 
her in your absence. The cannon are this moment 
firing in a most tremendous nianner on the subject. 
I wish you could hear it. I am with esteem and 
respect 

Your most humble servant, 

Benj. Huntington. 

Honorable Roger Sherman Esqr. 

The following letter from Mr. Sherman to William 
Williams, dated May 4, 1784, gives the views of 
Mr. Sherman on an import duty, and some other 
matters. 

Annapolis, 4th May, 1784. 

Dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 19th 
of April, yesterday with Mr Loomis's papers. Shall 
attend to his affairs when I return to Philadelphia. 
I am obliged to you for the information contained 
in the close of your letter respecting the politics of 
our State. The States who have agreed to the im- 
post recommended by Congress, are N. Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, N. Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina; these 
have fully complied. We have not heard what 
New York and North Carolina have done in the 
late sessions of their Legislatures, but their dele- 
gates say that there is no reason to doubt but that 
they have complied with the requisition. Georgia, 
we find by the news papers has lately appointed 
delegates, but they have not arrived in Congress, 
and we are not informed what that State has done 



122 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

respecting the impost. Rhode Island delegates 
think their State will be the last that agrees to it, 
but that the last requisition is less exceptionable 
than the former. It appears to me that a general 
impost will be the best way for raising a revenue 
for the interest of the national debt, though I never 
wish to have the power in Congress to raise money 
extended beyond what may be necessary for the 
present debt, but never to raise any for current ex- 
penses. I am not able to furnish you with the 
journals of Congress for the last year, the volume 
is not completed. I understand by the Secretary 
that he has sent to Governor Trumbull all that 
have been printed. General Wadsworth and I in 
our late joint letter gave you an account of the 
principal matters done and expected to be done by 
Congress this session. All the States except Dela- 
ware and Georgia are now represented. It is not 
likely that Congress will agree to any answer to 
the address on commutation; the members are 
divided as to the style and tone in which it should 
be answered. Some were for transmitting a copy 
of the answer given to Massachusetts, or make an 
answer nearly like it. Others thought it would be 
best only to state what had been done and leave it 
to the House to make the inferences, as was done 
in the draught reported by the last committee of 
which we transmitted a copy, that would have been 
agreed to, if the question had been put without the 
yeas and nays, as several members told me they 
would have voted for it, in that case who now voted 
in the negative. I don't find any members that 
think that the commutation can be rescinded, or 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 1 23 

avoided without a violation of public faith, a ma- 
jority approve of the measure. 

I hope the western territory will sink a consider- 
able part of the national debt ; it is proposed to 
apply it only to the principal. You will see the 
plan for establishing new States, and the requisi- 
tion for payment of arrears of interest and the cur- 
rent expenses, and a recommendation to the States 
lately passed for opposing the system adopted by 
Great Britain respecting commerce, in the printed 
journals that will be transmitted to the Governor. 
I sent some extracts to the Governor from the 
letters of our Ministers in Europe for his informa- 
tion and to be communicated to the General As- 
sembly. I hope none of them will be published 
in the newspapers, as some things of that kind 
have been very improperly done in a neighboring 
State; Congress has lately laid an injunction to 
taking or publishing extracts from such letters 
without express permission. 

The act of the General Assembly of our State 
respecting allowance for coast guards &c is now 
before a grand committee not reported on. We 
have not laid the act for making a cession of west- 
ern territory before Congress, they have renewed 
the requisition to the States for that purpose, and 
we shall offer a cession a few days hence. I 
hope, Sir, that you or one of the other delegates 
will come forward to attend the committee of the 
States to be left in the recess of Congress. I am, 
Sir, with the most perfect respect and esteem 
Your humble servant 

Roger Sherman. 

Hon. William Williams Esqr. 



124 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

Mr. Sherman was annually appointed a member 
of the Council of Safety of the State of Connecti- 
cut from 1777 to 1779, and again in 1782. There 
is no record of the proceedings of the Council, but 
it appears that Mr. Sherman was present at a great 
many meetings in the last half of 1777, and in the 
first half of 1779. 

At the October session, 1785, of the General 
Assembly of Connecticut, Mr. Sherman was ap- 
pointed one of a committee of five to inspect the 
copper coin manufactured in that State. 

From November, 1784, till his election to the 
Constitutional Convention in 1787, Mr. Sherman 
enjoyed a period of comparative repose, devoting 
himself to the performance of his duties as Judge 
of the Superior Court, and as Mayor of the City of 
New Haven. 

The following letter from Richard Henry Lee is 
of interest, as showing his regard for Mr. Sherman. 
He was mistaken in supposing that Mr. Sherman 
was not a member of Congress in 1780. 

Chantilly in Virginia, Jan. 22, 1780. 

Dear Sir, — The very high sense that I enter- 
tain of your sound and virtuous patriotism will by 
no means suffer me to pass you by when I am dis- 
tributing a pamphlet which I think it imports the 
friends of America to know the contents of. I appre- 
hend that the faction in Congress would long since 
have made the most essential parts public, had not 
concealment been necessary to cover their own 
misdeeds. It was certainly due to the honor of 
Congress as well as to that of individuals, that the 



THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 125 

public should be disabused in points of great 
moment wherein they had been most boldly and 
wickedly mislead. 

You may observe Sir, that I have taken care to 
omit such parts, as would if published, have tended 
to offend States that are now friendly to us. These 
things would have rendered the work much more 
complete to prove the vileness of that libel pub- 
lished on the sth of December 1778, but I am sure 
there is no person injured by that, but who would 
rather choose to continue suffering such injury 
than to expose it by means that would be hurtful 
to the community. 

It gave me great concern, my friend, to hear 
that you are not in Congress. I lament for the 
public good which I am sure is injured thereby. 
My mistake is great indeed if there ever was a time 
when more wisdom and virtue were wanting in the 
Great Council of America. I hope, dear sir, that 
it will not be long before you are again restored to 
that Assembly. Be so kind as present my best 
respects to Mr Hosmer and Mr Ellsworth and let 
them have the reading of this pamphlet. 

It will give me pleasure to know that this letter 
with its enclosure has reached you safely, for this 
purpose a line directed for me to the care of the 
Post Master at Leeds Town in Westmoreland 
County, Virginia will find me. I am, dear Sir, 
with high esteem and great affection, 
most sincerely yours, 

Richard Henry Lee. 

The following is a letter from Roger Sherman 



126 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

introducing Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Stiles, the 
President of Yale College : — 

Annapolis, nth May, 1784. 
Sir, — I take the liberty to introduce to you the 
Honorable Thomas Jefferson Esqr. late Governor 
of Virginia, now a Minister Plenipotentiary of the 
United States for negotiating treaties of commerce 
with Great Britain and several other European 
Powers, in conjunction with Mr Adams, and Dr. 
Franklin. He is the bearer of this letter, and is 
now on his way to Boston, there to embark for 
Europe. He wishes to gain what acquaintance he 
can with the country as he passes through. He is 
a gentleman of much philosophical as well as politi- 
cal knowledge — and I doubt not you will be very 
agreeably entertained with his conversation. You 
will be pleased to introduce him to such other 
gentlemen in the City of New Haven as you may 
think proper. I am. Sir, with great esteem & 
respect 

Your humble Servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

DocT>^ Stiles. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1 27 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

The Articles of Confederation provided no 
means of supplying the treasury of the government 
except by requisitions on the State governments. 
As the pressure of war was removed, the States 
paid less and less attention to those requisitions, 
until at last it became apparent that, unless Con- 
gress was clothed with adequate powers of taxa- 
tion, the Union must fall to pieces. The remedy 
proposed was to give Congress the power to levy 
and collect a small tax on imports. To this all of 
the States consented but Rhode Island ; and as the 
Articles of Confederation provided that no altera- 
tion should be made in them without the consent 
of the legislature of every State, it was in the power 
of the smallest State to frustrate the plans of all the 
others. In the Congress of 1782, a serious effort 
was made to change the decision of Rhode Island, 
but in vain. 

Nothing more remained but to call a convention 
for the formation of a government truly national, 
to take the place of the league of States which had 
proved such a wretched failure. But it was very 
difficult, even with disunion and anarchy staring 
them in the face, to get the States to consent to 
such a convention. In the Congress of 1783, 



128 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Alexander Hamilton prepared a series of resolu- 
tions, setting forth the defects of the confederate 
government, and recommending the calling of a 
convention of the States to remedy those defects, 
and to clothe the government with such powers as 
experience had shown were essential to its exis- 
tence. These resolutions were not presented for 
the reason endorsed on his draft in these words, 
** intended to be submitted to Congress in seven- 
teen hundred and eighty-three, but abandoned for 
want of support." The fact is that, as Mr. Gerry 
stated in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, 
" the States were intoxicated with the idea of their 
sovereignty." 

The Confederation was not only destitute of the 
power of taxation, it had no control of commerce. 
It was this latter defect which led to those move- 
ments which resulted in the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1787. The first step in this direction was 
the attempt of Virginia and Maryland to establish 
a code of commercial regulations between them- 
selves. This attempt made apparent the necessity 
of a uniform system to regulate the commerce of 
the entire country. Accordingly, in January, 1786, 
the legislature of Virginia passed a resolution to be 
sent to all the other States, inviting them to send 
deputies to a convention, for the purpose " of con- 
sidering how far a uniform system of taxation in 
their commercial intercourse and regulations might 
be ncessary to their common interest and perma- 
nent harmony." 

Four States, Connecticut, Maryland, South 
Carolina, and Georgia, failed to elect delegates. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 1 29 

The others elected delegates, but only those of 
five States, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, and New York, attended the convention, 
which assembled at Annapolis, September 11, 
1786. Those who met were too few to accomplish 
the task in hand. But they did what, in the end, 
proved to be far better. They adopted an address, 
written by Alexander Hamilton, setting forth the 
evils afflicting the country, and recommending, as 
the only adequate remedy for them, that the 
States unite " in the appointment of commissioners 
to meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in 
May next, to take into consideration the situation 
of the United States, to devise such further provi- 
sions as shall appear to them necessary to render 
the Constitution of the federal government ade- 
quate to the exigencies of the Union, and to report 
such an Act for that purpose to the United States 
in Congress assembled, as, when agreed to by 
them, and afterwards confirmed by the legislature 
of every State will effectually provide for the 
same." 

This address, though nominally made to the 
legislatures of those States which the delegates 
represented, was sent to Congress, and to the 
legislatures of all the States. Fortunately, its sug- 
gestion was followed by all the States but Rhode 
Island, and the Constitutional Convention assem- 
bled at Philadelphia in May, 1787. 

Among the many men, illustrious for character 
and public services, who composed the convention, 
two stand pre-eminent. Washington, whose name 
alone was with the people the most powerful ar- 

9 



I30 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

gument in favor of any cause which he espoused, 
was made president of the convention. Franklin, 
the Nestor of the convention, bending under the 
weight of eighty-one years, was the most pictur- 
esque figure in that assembly. Two years before, 
he had returned from Europe, where his abilities 
as a scientific discoverer, as a diplomatist, and as a 
writer, were universally recognized, and were hon- 
ored with the highest academic distinction which 
the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh had to be- 
stow. Three members of the Stamp Act Conven- 
tion of 1765 were there, — William S. Johnson, John 
Rutledge, and John Dickinson, the last the framer 
of the Articles of Confederation. A large propor- 
tion of those present had been members of the 
Continental Congress. The youthful and brilliant 
Hamilton, already distinguished as soldier, orator, 
and lawyer, and soon to take rank among the great- 
est of constructive statesmen, was one of the dele- 
gates from New York, and gave his earnest support 
to the cause of a strong, national government, of 
which Madison and Wilson were the foremost 
champions. 

The delegates from Connecticut were Roger 
Sherman, William Samuel Johnson, and Oliver 
Ellsworth. Mr. Sherman was, next to Franklin, 
the oldest member of the convention, being at that 
time sixty-six years of age. In length and variety 
of public service Franklin alone surpassed him. In 
clearness of perception, soundness of judgment, 
and steadfastness of purpose, he had no superior 
in the convention. Johnson, who was only six 
years the junior of Sherman, was born at Stratford, 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 131 

Conn., and was the son of an Episcopal clergyman. 
His scholarship had secured him the degree of 
Doctor of Laws from Oxford. He was one of the 
most learned lawyers and one of the most eloquent 
orators in America. He spent nearly five years in 
England in charge of an important law suit for the 
State of Connecticut ; and while there formed the 
friendship of the famous Dr. Johnson, and associ- 
ated freely with the leading statesmen of the Whig 
party. He lacked the nerve necessary for a revo- 
lutionary period ; and when the war broke out, he 
retired from public life and devoted himself to 
study. But notwithstanding he was an Episcopa- 
lian in a severely Puritan commonwealth, and a 
non-combatant among a people famous for their 
fighting qualities, such was the respect entertained 
for his integrity, abilities, and patriotism, that, as 
soon as the war was over, he was placed in the most 
important public positions. In the convention, 
though not a frequent speaker, he always spoke 
with marked ability, and was listened to with re- 
spectful attention. He was chairman of the com- 
mittee of five, of which Hamilton, G. Morris, 
Madison, and King were the other members, " to 
revise the style of, and arrange the articles agreed 
to by the House." 

Oliver Ellsworth was several years younger than 
his associates, having been born at Windsor, Conn., 
in 1745. A graduate of Princeton, he studied law 
with Governor Griswold and Judge Root, and 
speedily rose to the front rank of his profession. 
He had been a member of the State legislature and 
of the Continental Congress. He was an earnest 



132 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

and forcible speaker, and in his business qualities, 
strong practical sense, and decided religious char- 
acter, he resembled Roger Sherman, whom, as he 
told John Adams, he made his model. He was an 
effective debater in the convention ; but his fame 
rests chiefly on the services which he afterwards 
rendered in the United States Senate, where, as 
John Adams says of him, he was " the firmest pil- 
lar of Washington's whole administration." His 
most enduring monument is the Judiciary Act of 
1789. In 1796, he was appointed by Washington 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, and, in 1799, he was sent as envoy extraor- 
dinary to Paris, where, in connection with his col- 
leagues, he negotiated a treaty with France. 

During the latter part of Mr. Sherman's service 
in the Continental Congress he became strongly 
impressed with the necessity of a radical change 
in the Articles of Confederation. The following 
propositions found among his manuscripts were 
prepared by him, as embodying the amendments 
which he deemed necessary to be made to the 
existing government. 

"That, in addition to the legislative powers 
vested in congress by the articles of confederation, 
the legislature of the United States be authorised 
to make laws to regulate the commerce of the 
United States with foreign nations, and among the 
several states in the union; to impose duties on 
foreign goods and commodities imported into the 
United States, and on papers passing through the 
post office, for raising a revenue, and to regulate 
the collection thereof, and apply the same to the 



THE CO^rSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 1 33 

payment of the debts due from the United States, 
and for supporting the government, and other 
necessary charges of the Union. 

" To make laws binding on the people of the 
United States, and on the courts of law, and other 
magistrates and officers, civil and military, within 
the several states, in all cases which concern the 
common interests of the United States : but not to 
interfere with the government of the individual 
states, in matters of internal police which respect 
the government of such states only, and wherein 
the general welfare of the United States is not 
affected. 

" That the laws of the United States ought, as 
far as may be consistent with the common interest 
of the Union, to be carried into execution by the 
judiciary and executive officers of the respective 
states, wherein the execution thereof is required, 

" That the legislature of the United States be 
authorised to institute one supreme tribunal, and 
such other tribunals as they may judge necessary 
for the purpose aforesaid, and ascertain their re- 
spective powers and jurisdiction. 

" That the legislatures of the individual states 
ought not to possess a right to emit bills of credit 
for a currency, or to make any tender laws for the 
payment or discharge of debts or contracts, in any 
manner different from the agreement of the parties, 
unless for payment of the value of the thing con- 
tracted for, in current money, agreeable to the 
standard that shall be allowed by the legislature of 
the United States, or in any manner to obstruct or 
impede the recovery of debts, whereby the inter- 



134 '^^^ L^^^ OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

ests of foreigners, or the citizens of any other state, 
may be affected. 

**That the eighth article of the confederation 
ought to be amended, agreeably to the recommen- 
dation of congress of the — day of — .^J 

"That, if any state shall refuse or neglect to 
furnish its quota of supplies, upon requisition made 
by the legislature of the United States, agreeably 
to the articles of the Union, that the said legisla- 
ture be authorised to order the same to be levied 
and collected of the inhabitants of such state, and 
to make such rules and orders as may be necessary 
for that purpose. 

" That the legislature of the United States have 
power to make laws for calling forth such aid from 
the people, from time to time, as may be necessary 
to assist the civil officers in the execution of the 
laws of the United States ; and annex suitable pen- 
alties to be inflicted in case of disobedience. 

" That no person shall be liable to be tried for 
any criminal offence, committed within any of the 
United States, in any other state than that wherein 
the offence shall be committed, nor be deprived of 
the privilege of trial by a jury, by virtue of any 
law of the United States." 

When Mr. Sherman entered the Constitutional 
Convention, he doubtless believed that some such 
amendments as were embodied in these proposi- 
tions were all that was necessary to cure the de- 
fects of the existing Confederation. His associates 

^ Making the contribution of each State to the national treasury 
to be according to the number of inhabitants, instead of the value 
of land. Date should be April i8, 1783. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 135 

from Connecticut agreed with him in this opinion. 
Substantially, this was the opinion of nearly one 
half of the convention. The other half were in 
favor of setting aside the Articles of Confederation 
altogether, and of substituting in their place a 
strong national government. While, in a general 
way, it was true that the convention was about 
equally divided between these parties, there was 
no such thing as a party organization among 
them. There were all shades of nationalists, and 
all shades of confederates, and some were partly 
the one, and partly the other. A more inde- 
pendent body of men never met together. While 
tenacious of their own opinions, they were largely 
men of open minds, and ready to change their 
opinions on the reception of further light. Their 
debates display remarkable ability, but, on the 
whole, what most impresses one is the sincere 
and earnest desire evinced to devise a scheme of 
government which should most largely promote 
the happiness and welfare of the people. The 
great struggle between the nationalists and the 
confederates took place over the question of repre- 
sentation in the national legislature. The story of 
that struggle, and of the compromise in which it 
ended, forms the most interesting and important 
part of the proceedings of the convention. 

The debates in the Constitutional Convention 
divide themselves into three distinct periods : — 

First. The debates in the Committee of the 
Whole on the state of the Union, which extended 
from May 30 to June 19. 

From May 30 to June 13, the committee had 



136 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

under consideration the fifteen resolutions of 
Randolph, which were proposed, and referred to 
the Committee of the Whole, on May 29, and which 
contained the leading principles which he thought 
should prevail in a National Constitution. 

June 13, the committee reported in favor of 
the Randolph resolutions as they had been 
amended in debate. This may be called the 
national plan. 

June 15, Mr. Patterson presented the resolutions 
known as the New Jersey or confederate plan. 
This plan was referred to the Committee of the 
Whole, and the national plan recommitted. These 
plans were debated till June 19, when the com- 
mittee voted to rise and report in favor of the 
national plan. 

Second. The debates in the convention on the 
national plan, which extended from June 19 to 
July 26, when a committee of detail of five 
members was appointed to prepare and report 
a Constitution conformable to the twenty-three 
resolutions adopted by the convention. 

Third. The debates in the convention on the 
detailed plan, which extended from August 6 to 
September 16, when the Constitution was adopted. 
September 17, a few changes were made, the 
Constitution was signed, and the convention 
adjourned. 

In the first period, which lasted only twenty 
days, the debates were brief and comparatively 
calm. 

In the second period, which lasted thirty-seven 
days, the great struggle between the national and 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 1 37 

confederate parties took place which ended in the 
adoption of the compromise plan. 

In the third period, which lasted forty- two days, 
the debate on details, which exhibited great diver- 
sity of opinion, was conducted without asperity. 
The slavery question excited a' momentary feeling, 
but was soon disposed of. 

The leaders of the nationalists in the debates 
were Madison, Wilson, Hamilton, and Gouverneur 
Morris. The leaders of the confederates were 
Patterson, Lansing, and Luther Martin. Those most 
active in effecting compromises between the con- 
tending parties were Sherman, Ellsworth, Franklin, 
and Dickinson. 

The point on which there was the bitterest and 
most prolonged controversy was, as I have stated, 
the rule of suffrage in the legislature. The resolu- 
tion on this subject was the second on Mr. Ran- 
dolph's list. But when it was reached, at the re- 
quest of Mr. Read, of Delaware, the consideration 
of it was postponed, " as the deputies from Dela- 
ware were restrained by their commission from as- 
senting to any change in the rule of suffrage, and, 
in case such a change should be fixed on, it might 
become their duty to retire from the convention." 

Accordingly the second resolution was not taken 
up till the other resolutions had been acted on. 
This second resolution provided "that the rights 
of suffrage in the national legislature ought to be 
proportioned to the quotas of contribution, or to 
the number of free inhabitants, as the one or the 
other rule may seem best in different cases." On 
the 9th of June the debate on the second reso- 



138 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

lution began. Mr. Brearly and Mr. Patterson, 
of New Jersey, spoke in opposition, and Mr. 
Wilson in favor of it. June ii the debate was 
resumed. 

Mr. Sherman proposed that the proportion of 
suffrage in the first branch (the House of Repre- 
sentatives) should be according to the respective 
numbers of free inhabitants ; and that in the second 
branch, or Senate, each State should have one vote 
and no more. He said, as the States would re- 
main possessed of certain individual rights, each 
State ought to be able to protect itself; otherwise 
a few large States will rule the rest. The House 
of Lords in England, he observed, had certain 
particular rights under the Constitution, and hence 
they have an equal vote with the House of Com- 
mons, that they may be able to defend their 
rights. 

This was the first direct presentation of that com- 
promise plan by which the conflicting claims of 
the large and the small States were finally adjusted. 
Twice before it had been suggested, in debates on 
other questions. May 31, during the discussion on 
the mode of electing Senators, Mr. Sherman ex- 
pressed himself in favor of an election of one mem- 
ber by each of the State legislatures. June 2, 
while discussing the mode of electing the Execu- 
tive, Mr. Dickinson said, " As to the point of rep- 
resentation in the national legislature, as it might 
affect States of different sizes, it must probably 
end in mutual concession. He hoped that each 
State would retain an equal voice, at least in one 
branch of the national legislature." This plan 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1 39 

was modified in some of its details, as we shall 
hereafter see, but the compromise, as finally 
adopted, was, in substance, representation accord- 
ing to population in the House of Representatives, 
and equal representation of the States in the 
Senate. Roger Sherman was thus the first to pro- 
pose this important compromise, and his merit 
consists in this, that, while the advocates of a strong 
general government were in favor of a representa- 
tion in both Houses of the legislature based on 
population, and the advocates of a weak general 
government were in favor of an equal representa- 
tion of the States in both Houses, Sherman, though 
sympathizing with the latter class, saw, at this early 
day, that it would be impossible to form a general 
government unless each side yielded a portion of 
its claims. The national principle must prevail in 
one House, and the confederate principle in the 
other. To Roger Sherman belongs the credit, not 
only of introducing in the convention this compro- 
mise, which, as we have seen, was in substance the 
plan proposed by him eleven years before, in the 
debate on the Articles of Confederation, but also 
of bearing the brunt of the contest in its favor, 
through a long and severe struggle, till it was 
finally adopted. 

After a brief discussion, it was decided by a vote 
of nine to two that representation in the House 
should be in proportion to the whole number of 
free inhabitants and three-fifths of the slaves. New 
Jersey and Delaware were the only States voting 
in the negative. 

Mr. Sherman then moved that the question be 



140 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

taken whether each State shall have one vote in the 
second branch. " Everything," he said, " de- 
pended on this. The smaller States would never 
agree to the plan on any other principle than an 
equality of suffrage in this branch." Mr. Ellsworth 
seconded the motion, and the vote was five yeas to 
six nays. 

Mr. Wilson then moved that the right of suffrage 
in the Senate ought to be according to the same 
rule as in the first branch. On this motion the 
vote was six yeas to five nays. 

In the resolutions reported to the convention on 
June 13 by the Committee of the Whole, the 
national principle prevailed, except in the provision 
for electing the Senators by the State legislatures. 
The debate on those resolutions began June 20, 
and then the advocates of the confederate plan 
returned to the contest with renewed vigor. In 
the Committee of the Whole the resolution in favor 
of two Houses of the legislature was adopted with- 
out debate. But when that resolution came up in 
the convention, Lansing, Luther Martin, Sherman, 
and W. S. Johnson made elaborate speeches 
against it. The keynote of the opposition to a 
legislature of two Houses was struck in the opening 
remark of Mr. Lansing, " that the true question 
here was whether the convention would adhere to 
or depart from the foundation of the present 
confederacy." 

Mr. Sherman seconded and supported Mr. 
Lansing's motion in favor of a single legislative 
House. He admitted two branches to be necessary 
in the State legislatures, but saw no necessity in a 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. I41 

confederacy of States. The examples were all of 
a single council. Congress carried us through the 
war, and perhaps as well as any government could 
have done. The complaints at present are, not 
that the views of Congress are unwise or unfaithful, 
but that their powers are insufficient for the execu- 
tion of their views. The national debt, and the 
want of power somewhere to draw forth the national 
resources, are the great matters that press. All the 
States were sensible of the defect of power in Con- 
gress. He thought much might be said in apology 
for the failure of the State legislatures to comply 
with the Confederation. They were afraid of lean- 
ing too hard on the people by accumulating taxes ; 
no constitutional rule had been, or could be ob- 
served in the quotas ; the accounts also were un- 
settled, and every State supposed itself in advance 
rather than in arrears. For want of a general sys- 
tem, taxes to a due amount had not been drawn 
from trade, which was the most convenient re- 
source. As almost all the States had agreed to the 
recommendation of Congress on the subject of an 
impost, it appeared clearly that they were willing 
to trust Congress with power to draw a revenue 
from trade. There is no weight, therefore, in the 
argument drawn from a distrust of Congress ; for 
money matters being the most important of all, if 
the people will trust them with power as to them, 
they will trust them with any other necessary 
powers. Congress, indeed, by the Confederation, 
have in fact the right of saying how much the peo- 
ple shall pay, and to what purpose it shall be ap- 
plied ; and this right was granted to them in the 



142 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

expectation that it would in all cases have its effect. 
If another branch were to be added to Congress, 
to be chosen by the people, it would serve to em- 
barrass. The people would not much interest 
themselves in the elections ; a few designing men 
in the large districts would carry their points ; and 
the people would have no more confidence in their 
new representatives than in Congress. He saw no 
reason why the State legislatures should be un- 
friendly, as had been suggested, to Congress. If 
they appoint Congress, and approve of their 
measures, they would be rather favorable and par- 
tial to them. The disparity of the States in point 
of size, he perceived, was the main difficulty. But 
the large States had not yet suffered from the 
equality of votes enjoyed by the smaller ones. In 
all great and general points, the interests of all the 
States were the same. The State of Virginia, not- 
withstanding the equality of votes, ratified the Con- 
federation without even proposing any alteration. 
Massachusetts also ratified without any material 
difficulty. In none of the ratifications is the want 
of two branches noticed or complained of. To 
consolidate the States, as some had proposed, 
would dissolve our treaties with foreign nations, 
which had been formed with us as confederated 
States. He did not, however, suppose that the 
creation of two branches in the legislature would 
have such an effect. If the difficulty on the sub- 
ject of representation cannot be otherwise got over, 
he would agree to have two branches, and a pro- 
portional representation in one of them, provided 
each State had an equal voice in the other. This 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1 43 

was necessary to secure the rights of the lesser 
States, otherwise three or four of the large States 
would rule the others as they please. Each State, 
like each individual, had its peculiar habits, usages, 
and manners, which constituted its happiness. It 
would not, therefore, give to others a power over 
this happiness, any more than an individual would 
do, when he could avoid it. 

Mr. Mason, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Madison very 
ably supported the resolution in favor of two Houses 
of the legislature ; and the vote stood : yeas, seven ; 
nays, three ; Maryland divided. The vote of Con- 
necticut was in the affirmative. 

The debate on the rules of suffrage in the two 
branches began on June 27, and was continued till 
July 16, when the compromise plan was adopted 
by a vote of five to four. When the debate had 
lasted two days, and the prospect of harmonious 
action seemed to be diminishing rather than in- 
creasing, Dr. Franklin moved that the convention 
be opened each day with prayer. This motion 
was seconded by Mr. Sherman. It did not come 
to a vote, apparently from fear that it might excite 
alarm among the people. On the 28th of June, in 
discussing the resolution that the suffrage in the 
first branch should be according to an equitable 
ratio, Mr. Sherman said, the question is, not what 
rights naturally belong to a man, but how they may 
be most equally and effectually guarded in society. 
And if some give up more than others, in order to 
obtain this end, there can be no room for com- 
plaint. To do otherwise, to require an equal con- 
cession from all, if it would create danger to the 



144 ^HE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

rights of some, would be sacrificing the end to the 
means. The rich man who enters into society 
along with the poor man gives up more than the 
poor man ; yet, with an equal vote, he is equally 
safe. Were he to have more votes than the poor 
man, in proportion to his superior stake, the rights 
of the poor man would immediately cease to be 
secure. This consideration prevailed when the 
Articles of Confederation were formed. 

On the 29th of June, it was decided by a vote of 
six to four that the rule of suffrage in the first 
branch (the House of Representatives) ought not 
to be according to that established by the Articles 
of Confederation. Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Delaware voted in the negative, and Mary- 
land was divided. On this day, Mr. Sherman's 
associate, Mr. Johnson, made the following admi- 
rable speech on behalf of the compromise plan : — 

" The controversy must be endless whilst gentle- 
men differ in the grounds of their arguments : those 
on one side considering the States as districts of 
people composing one political society, those on 
the other considering them as so many political 
societies. The fact is that the States do exist as 
so many societies, and a government is to be formed 
for them in their political capacity, as well as for 
the individuals composing them. Does it not seem 
to follow, that if the States, as such, are to exist, 
they must be armed with some power of self-de- 
fence ? This is the idea of Col. Mason, who ap- 
pears to have looked to the bottom of this matter. 
Besides the aristocratic and other interests, which 
ought to have the means of defending themselves, 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 1 45 

the States have their interests as such, and are 
equally entitled to like means. On the whole, he 
thought that, as, in some respects, the States are to 
be considered in their political capacity, and, in 
others, as districts of individual citizens, the two 
ideas embraced on different sides, instead of being 
opposed to each other, ought to be combined — 
that in one branch the people ought to be repre- 
sented, in the other, the States." 

After this vote was taken, Mr. Ellsworth moved 
that the rule of suffrage in the second branch 
(the Senate) be the same with that established by 
the Articles of Confederation. Mr. Baldwin, of 
Georgia, ** thought the second branch ought to be 
the representation of property, and that in forming 
it, therefore, some reference ought to be had to 
the relative wealth of their constituents, and to the 
principles on which the Senate of Massachusetts 
was constituted." 

The debate on Mr. Ellsworth's motion was re- 
sumed on the 30th of June. In the course of this 
debate, Mr. Madison said that the difference in in- 
terest between the States depended not upon their 
size, but upon their being slave-holding or non- 
slave-holding States. The remedy for this differ- 
ence which had occurred to him was that, instead 
of proportioning the votes of the States, in both 
branches, to their respective numbers of inhabit- 
ants, computing the slaves in the ratio of five to 
three, they should be represented in one branch 
according to the number of free inhabitants only, 
and in the other according to the whole number, 
counting the slaves as free. By this arrangement 



146 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

the Southern scale would have the advantage in 
one House, and the Northern in the other. 

Mr. Sherman, in reply to the charge that the 
States had not complied with the requisitions of 
Congress, said, " Congress is not to blame for 
the faults of the States. Their measures have 
been right, and the only thing wanting has been 
a further power in Congress to render them 
effectual.'* 

Mr. Wilson proposed one Senator for every 
100,000 souls, the States not having that number 
to be allowed one. 

Dr. Franklin proposed an equal number of Sen- 
ators from each State ; that in all questions touch- 
ing the sovereignty of the States, or whereby the 
authority of the States over their own citizens may 
be diminished, or the authority of the general gov- 
ernment within the States increased, and in the 
appointment of civil officers, each State should 
have equal suffrage ; that in money bills the dele- 
gates of the several States shall have suffrage in 
proportion to the contribution of their States to 
the Treasury. The debate on this day was very 
heated, Mr. Bedford, of Delaware, stating that the 
small States, rather than agree to the national plan, 
would prefer a foreign alliance. 

July 2, the vote on Mr. Ellsworth's motion was 
taken, and it was lost by an equal division, five 
to five. Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Del- 
aware, Maryland, aye; Massachusetts, Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
nay ; Georgia divided. 

Up to this time Georgia had voted with the Na- 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION I47 

tionalists. It is an interesting fact, that the Georgia 
delegate, whose affirmative vote on this occasion 
divided that State, and thus destroyed the majority 
of the nationalists on this question of representa- 
tion, and made the compromise which was finally 
adopted a necessity, was Abraham Baldwin, who 
was born and educated in Connecticut, and who 
removed to Georgia about three years before this 
convention was held. His vote at this critical 
juncture gives an added emphasis to the phrase 
"the Connecticut Compromise," which Mr. Ban- 
croft has made so familiar. 

Mr. C. Pinckney proposed that the representa- 
tion of the States in the Senate should vary ac- 
cording to population, but that the larger States 
should not have their full proportion. 

Gen. C. C. Pinckney proposed a committee of 
one from each State to report a plan of compro- 
mise. This seemed to be felt by most to be a 
necessity. 

Mr. Randolph said he would agree that, in the 
choice of an Executive, each State should have an 
equal vote. Vote for the committee : yeas, nine ; 
nays, two. 

July S, the committee of eleven reported two 
propositions : 

I. That in the House of Representatives there 
be one representative for every 40,000 inhabitants ; 
each State to have at least one ; all money bills to 
originate in the House, and not be amended in 
Senate ; no money to be drawn from the Treasury 
but in pursuance of appropriations originated in 
the House. 



148 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

2. In the Senate each State to have an equal 
vote. 

Mr. Madison, in a note (5 Elliot, 274) says that 
this compromise was proposed by Dr. Franklin; 
that Mr. Sherman, who took the place of Mr. 
Ellsworth, proposed that each State should have an 
equal vote in the Senate, provided that no decision 
therein should prevail unless the majority of States 
concurring should also comprise a majority of the 
inhabitants of the United States, but it was not 
much deliberated on or approved in the committee. 
Mr. Madison says a similar provision was proposed 
in the debates on the Articles of Confederation. I 
can find no confirmation of this last statement. 
Probably Mr. Madison had in mind the proposi- 
tion reported by Mr. Adams, to which reference 
has been made in speaking of those debates, and 
in which proposition Mr. Sherman, eleven years 
before the Constitutional Convention, provided for 
combining an equal representation of States with 
a proportionate representation of individuals. 

The debate which followed on this day and the 
next related principally to the question whether 
giving to the House the sole right to originate 
money bills was really any concession to the large 
States. It was finally voted, five to three, that the 
clause relating to money bills should stand as a 
part of the report. 

July 7, the question was taken up: Shall the 
clause allowing each State one vote in the second 
branch (the Senate) stand as a part of the report? 

Mr. Sherman supposed it was the wish of every 
one that some general government should be es- 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 149 

tablished. An equal vote in the second branch 
would, he thought, be most likely to give it the 
necessary vigor. "The small States have more 
vigor in their government than the large ones; 
the more influence, therefore, the large ones have, 
the weaker will be the government. In the large 
States it will be most difficult to collect the real 
and fair sense of the people ; fallacy and undue 
influence will be practiced with the most success, 
and improper men will most easily get into office. 
If they vote by States in the second branch, and 
each State has an equal vote, there must be always 
a majority of States as well as a majority of the 
people on the side of public measures, and the 
Government will have decision and efficacy. If 
this be not the case in the second branch, there 
may be a majority of States against public meas- 
ures, and the difficulty of compelling them to abide 
by the public determination will render the Gov- 
ernment feebler than it has ever yet been." The 
vote on this question stood : yeas, six ; nays, three. 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, nay ; Mas- 
sachusetts and Georgia, divided. 

From the 9th to the 14th of July, the debate was 
on a variety of questions growing out of the pro- 
vision relating to the number of members in the 
House of Representatives, such as slave represen- 
tation, census, and representation of new States. 

On the 14th of July, Mr. Rutledge proposed to 
reconsider the two propositions touching the origi- 
nating of money bills in the first, and the equality 
of votes in the second branch. 

Mr. Gerry favored the reconsideration, with a 



ISO THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

view, not of destroying the equality of votes, but 
of providing that the States should vote per capita, 
which, he said, would prevent the delays and in- 
conveniences that had been experienced in Con- 
gress, and would give a national aspect and spirit 
to the management of business. 

This proposition of Mr. Gerry's that the Sena- 
tors vote per capita, though not acted upon at this 
time, was renewed by Gouverneur Morris and Mr. 
King on July 23, and was then adopted. This was 
the last step in the controversy, and one of the 
most important. It must have seemed to the 
Nationalists a much greater concession than the 
giving to the House of Representatives the exclu- 
sive right to originate money bills. It removed 
from the proceedings of the Senate all appearance 
of State action, and, as Mr. Gerry said, it gave a 
national aspect and spirit to the management of 
business. Only the extreme State rights men, like 
Luther Martin, opposed it, and, on the final vote, 
Maryland was the only State voting in the nega- 
tive. For this suggestion Mr. Gerry is entitled to 
no small share of credit. 

The reconsideration proposed by Mr. Rutledge 
having been agreed to, Mr. Pinckney moved that, 
instead of an equality of votes, the States should be 
represented in the Senate as follows : New Hamp- 
shire, two ; Massachusetts, four ; Rhode Island, one ; 
Connecticut, three ; New York, three ; New Jersey, 
two; Pennsylvania, four; Delaware, one; Mary- 
land, three ; Virginia, five ; North Carolina, three ; 
South Carolina, three ; Georgia, two. Total, thirty- 
six. This motion was seconded by Mr. Wilson. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 15I 

Mr. Sherman urged the equality of votes, as a 
security not so much for the small States, as for the 
State governments, which could not be preserved 
unless they were represented and had a negative 
in the general government. He had no objection 
to the members in the second branch voting per 
capita, as had been suggested by Mr. Gerry. 

Strong speeches were made by King, Madison, 
and Wilson against giving to the States an equal- 
ity of votes in the Senate. Vote on Mr. Pinckney's 
motion : yeas, four ; nays, six. 

On the 1 6th of July, the vote was taken on the 
whole report as amended, including equality of 
votes in the Senate, and resulted in five yeas and 
four nays. Massachusetts divided. 

July 23, Gouverneur Morris and Mr. King moved 
that the Senators vote per capita. Mr. Ellsworth 
said he had always approved of voting in that 
mode. It was agreed to that the number of Sena- 
tors be two from each State. 

Mr. L. Martin was opposed to voting per capita, 
as departing from the idea of the States being rep- 
resented in the second branch. Mr. Carroll was 
not struck with any particular objection against 
the mode, but he did not wish so hastily to make 
so material an innovation. 

The vote on the whole motion, viz. : " The sec- 
ond branch to consist of two members from each 
StatCy and to vote per capita," was: yeas, nine; 
nay, one (Maryland). 

From this review of the proceedings in the Fed- 
eral Convention on the rule of suffrage in the two 
Houses of the national legislature, we perceive : 



152 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

(i) That the first motion that the States have 
an equal vote in the Senate was made in the Com- 
mittee of the Whole, on June 9, by Roger Sherman, 
and was seconded by Oliver Ellsworth, and that 
this motion was negatived by a vote of five yeas to 
six nays. 

(2) That immediately after this vote was taken 
James Wilson moved that the right of suffrage in 
the Senate be the same as in the House of Repre- 
sentatives (that is, according to population), and 
that this motion prevailed by a vote of six yeas to 
five nays. 

(3) That on the 13th of June the national plan 
was reported by the Committee of the Whole, 
which provided that the rule of suffrage in both 
Houses should be according to population. 

(4) That in the debate in the convention on 
this national plan, on June 29, Oliver Ellsworth 
moved that the rule of suffrage in the Senate be 
the same with that established by the Articles of 
Confederation. After a long debate, the vote was 
taken on this motion on July 2, and resulted in an 
equal division of the convention, five yeas and five 
nays, and Georgia divided. 

(5) That, to break this deadlock, a committee 
of eleven, one from each State, was appointed 
to see if they could not agree on a compromise 
plan. 

On July 5, the committee of eleven, of which Mr. 
Sherman was a member, reported a plan, which 
was, in substance, that in the House of Represent- 
atives representation be according to population ; 
that money bills originate in the House, which 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 153 

shall not be altered or amended in the Senate ; and 
that in the Senate each State shall have an equal 
vote. After a long debate and various amend- 
ments, which only affected the representation in 
the House of Representatives, the compromise 
plan, giving the States an equal vote in the Senate, 
was, on July 16, adopted by a vote of five yeas to 
four nays, Massachusetts being divided. 

(6) That the final action on this subject was 
taken on the 23d of July, when it was decided, by 
a vote of nine yeas to one nay, that there be two 
Senators from each State, and that they vote per 
capita. 

Besides the three main plans for representation 
in the two Houses, which I have called the national, 
the confederate, and the compromise plans — by the 
first of which representation in both Houses was 
to be according to population ; by the second, the 
States were to have an equal vote in both Houses ; 
by the third, the States were to be represented ac- 
cording to population in the House, and to be 
equally represented in the Senate — besides these 
three main plans, a variety of other plans were 
suggested in the course of the debate. They were, 
as we have seen, the plans of Mr. Baldwin, of Mr. 
Madison, of Mr. Wilson, of Dr. Franklin, of Mr. 
Pinckney, and of Mr. Sherman in the committee of 
eleven. 

September 15, the last day of the debate, Mr. 
Sherman moved a proviso to the Article on 
Amendments, "that no State shall, without its 
consent, be affected in its internal police, or de- 
prived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." The 



154 ^-^-^ ^^^^ OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

part relating to equal suffrage in the Senate was 
adopted. 

This plan of a double representation in our 
national legislature, of population in one House 
and of States in the other, has generally been 
spoken of as a masterstroke of statesmanship. We 
have seen that it was simply the result of a com- 
promise. It originated in a groundless fear that 
the larger States would combine to oppress the 
smaller ones. It was in vain that Madison, and 
Wilson, and Hamilton pointed out that States 
would be led to act together, not from similarity 
in size, but from unity in interest, and that there 
was no such unity of interest in what were then 
the large States (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and 
Virginia) as to lead them to oppress the smaller 
ones. As we read the debates, we cannot help be- 
lieving that a man of such strong sense as Roger 
Sherman must have felt the force of these argu- 
ments. That he did so seems apparent from the 
fact that toward the close of the debate he de- 
fended the equal representation of the States in the 
Senate on the ground that it was necessary to pre- 
serve the rights, not of the small States against the 
large States, but of all the States against the 
general government. 

Experience has shown that there never was the 
slightest danger that the large States would com- 
bine to oppress the small ones; and that there 
was more danger to the national government 
from the State governments than to the State 
governments from the national government. But 
while these fears of the early advocates of State 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 155 

rights were groundless, Sherman and his associates 
were doubtless right in their belief that the major- 
ity of the people were in favor of an amendment 
t)f the Articles of Confederation rather than of a 
purely national government, and that there was 
danger that they would reject a Constitution which 
did not give to the States an equal representation 
in at least one House of the national legislature. 
And so they insisted on a compromise which gave us 
not an ideally perfect national government, but the 
best perhaps which the people were willing to bear. 

Madison and his associates were right in point- 
ing out that the danger to the nation was from the 
State-rights sentiment rather than from the national 
sentiment. Accordingly we find that the first 
mutterings of discontent were in the 'Kentucky 
nullification resolutions and in the Hartford Con- 
vention. Disloyalty took a more serious form, in 
Jackson's time, in the nullification proceedings in 
South Carolina. It culminated, in our own day, 
in secession and civil war. 

The constitution of the Senate as the represent- 
ative of the States did not produce the good an- 
ticipated, as the large States were never hostile to 
the small States, and the negative of the Senate 
was never invoked to guard the States against in- 
jurious legislation by the House of Representatives. 
Neither did it produce the evil feared, as the action 
of the Senate was never anti-national. It did, how- 
ever, produce what the advocates of a strong 
national government most desired, a small body of 
picked men, whose intelligence, character, and 
length of service have made them a fit check on 



IS6 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

the popular branch of the legislature, and a safe 
depository of the treaty-making power. We never 
think of the Senate as the guardian of State rights, 
but as the noblest embodiment of the legislative 
wisdom of the nation. 

During the early debates in the convention, 
Roger Sherman showed himself in favor of amend- 
ing the Articles of Confederation rather than of 
forming a strictly national government. He ex- 
pressed himself to this effect on the first day he 
took his seat in the convention. Luther Martin 
said in his report to the Maryland legislature that 
the members of the convention who prepared the 
resolutions for amending the Articles of Confed- 
eration presented by Patterson were principally 
of the Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Dela- 
ware, and Maryland delegations. 

Sherman favored the election of both Represent- 
atives and Senators by the State legislatures rather 
than by the people, though he finally acquiesced 
in the election of Representatives by the people. 
He thought the President should be elected by the 
national legislature, and should be absolutely de- 
pendent on it and removable by it at pleasure.^ 
He thought Representatives and Senators should be 
paid by the State and not by the national legis- 
lature, but finally proposed that they be paid five 
dollars a day out of the national treasury, and that 
any further emoluments be added by the States. 

He thought the judges should be removed by 
the President, on the application of the Senate and 

1 The resemblance between this plan and the Cabinet Govern- 
ment described in Bagehot's English Constitution will be noticed. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 157 

House. He opposed inferior courts as a needless 
expense, as the State courts would answer the same 
purpose. Finally, he was willing the legislature 
should create them, but wished the State courts 
to be used when it could be done with safety to 
the general interest. He, however, expressed 
more confidence in the national judiciary than 
some did, and believed it a better tribunal for de- 
termining controversies between the States than 
the old method under the Confederation. 

He favored the ratification of the Constitution 
by the State legislatures rather than by conven- 
tions of the people. To the clause relating to 
amendments, he moved to add that " no amend- 
ments shall be binding unless consented to by the 
several States." 

In the plan for choosing a President by electors, 
it was provided that, in case of failure to choose, 
the Senate should choose a President out of the 
five highest candidates. It was thought this would 
strengthen the aristocratic influence of the Senate 
too much; so it was proposed that the choice 
should be by the legislature. Mr. Sherman then 
suggested that in that case the vote should be by 
States — " in favor of the small States, as the large 
States would have so great an advantage in nomi- 
nating the candidates." Finally he suggested the 
plan — which was adopted — of a vote by the House 
of Representatives, each State having one vote. 

When the proposition for the election of Repre- 
sentatives by the people was first under discussion 
(May 31), Mr. Sherman opposed election by the 
people, insisting that it ought to be by the State 



158 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN^, 

legislatures. "The people," he said, "immedi- 
ately should have as little to do as may be about 
the government. They want information, and are 
constantly liable to be misled." 

When this matter was brought up the second 
time (June 6), Mr. Sherman said : — 

" If it were in view to abolish the State govern- 
ments, the elections ought to be by the people. If 
the State governments are to be continued, it is 
necessary, in order to preserve harmony between 
the national and State governments, that the elec- 
tions to the former should be made by the latter. 
The right of participating in the national govern- 
ment would be sufficiently secured to the people 
by their election of the State legislatures." 

When the clause that the President should be 
chosen by the national legislature was under dis- 
cussion (July 17), Mr. Sherman thought that the 
sense of the nation would be better expressed by 
the legislature than by the people at large. " The 
latter will never be sufficiently informed of charac- 
ters, and besides will never give a majority of votes 
to any one man. They will generally vote for 
some man in their own State, and the largest State 
will have the best chance for the appointment. If 
the choice be made by the legislature, a majority 
of voices may be made necessary to constitute an 
election." 

In the speech above referred to, made on June 6, 
Mr. Sherman took a very limited view of the pow- 
ers of the general government. " The objects of 
the Union," he thought, " were few — first, defense 
against foreign danger ; secondly, against internal 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 159 

disputes and a resort to force; thirdly, treaties 
with foreign nations; fourthly, regulating foreign 
commerce and deriving revenue from it. These, 
and perhaps a few lesser objects, alone rendered a 
confederation of the States necessary. All other 
matters, civil and criminal, would be much better 
in the hands of the States. The people are more 
happy in small than in large States. States may, 
indeed, be too small, as Rhode Island, and thereby 
be too subject to faction. Some others were, per- 
haps, too large, the powers of government not 
being able to pervade them. He was for giving 
the general government power to legislate and 
execute within a defined province." 

He was opposed to the appointment by the 
general government of the general officers of the 
militia. He was opposed to a tax on exports. 
When it was proposed to give the President an 
absolute veto power, Mr. Sherman said he "was 
against enabling any one man to stop the will of 
the whole. He thought we ought to avail our- 
selves of his wisdom in revising the laws, but not 
to permit him to overrule the decided and cool 
opinions of the legislature." ^ The awkward plan 
of giving the national legislature the power to 
negative State laws contrary to the Constitution 
was opposed by Mr. Sherman on the ground that 
such a power involves a wrong principle — to wit, 
that a law of a State contrary to the Articles of 
the Union would, if not negatived, be valid and 
operative. ^ 

* See the discussion of this matter in the correspondence be- 
tween John Adams and Roger Sherman, in the Appendix. 



l60 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

In view of the part which slavery has played 
in our national history, it strikes one as strange, at 
first, that it should have played so small a part in 
the Federal Convention. But at that time slavery 
was not confined to the Southern States, and anti- 
slavery sentiments were not confined to the North- 
ern States. Gouverneur Morris made a speech 
denouncing slavery which would have done credit 
to Wendell Phillips. But he was ably supported 
by Mason and Madison. Georgia and South Car- 
olina were the only States that upheld it. Virginia 
and Maryland had already abolished the slave- 
trade. It was natural, therefore, that the members 
of the convention should suppose that in a few 
years slavery would come to an end in most, if not 
all the States. Mr. Ellsworth undoubtedly ex- 
pressed the general belief when he said, " Slavery, 
in time, will not be a speck in our country." 

The view which Mr. Sherman took of the matter 
was thus expressed by him. He disapproved of 
the slave-trade ; yet, as the States were now pos- 
sessed of the right to import slaves, as the public 
good did not require it to be taken from them, and 
as it was expedient to have as few objections as 
possible to the proposed scheme of government, 
he thought it best to leave the matter as we find it. 
He observed that the abolition of slavery seemed 
to be going on in the United States, and that the 
good sense of the several States would probably 
by degrees complete it.^ 

One of the most surprising things in these de- 

1 For further illustration of Mr. Sherman's views on slavery, 
see Index, title Slavery. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. l6l 

bates is the hostility shown by some of the mem- 
bers to new States, and the absurd attempt to 
restrict their representation in the national legis- 
lature. Gouverneur Morris was the leader in this 
movement, which was strongly condemned by 
Mason and Madison. 

This hostility found its formal expression in 
the motion made by Mr. Gerry, on the 14th of 
July, " that, in order to secure the liberties of the 
States already confederated, the number of repre- 
sentatives in the first branch of the States which 
shall hereafter be established shall never exceed 
in number the representatives from such of the 
States as shall accede to this confederation." 

Mr. Sherman made the only speech in opposi- 
tion to this motion. He thought there was no 
probability that the number of future States would 
exceed that of the existing States. " If the event 
should ever happen, it is too remote to be taken 
into consideration at this time. Besides, we are 
providing for our posterity, for our children and 
our grandchildren, who would be as likely to be 
citizens of new Western States as of the old States. 
On this consideration alone we ought to make 
no such discrimination as is proposed by the 
motion." ^ 

And yet four States — Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut, Delaware, and Maryland — voted in favor of 
Mr. Gerry's motion; Pennsylvania was divided, 
and only five States voted against the motion. 

In expressing the opinion that there was no 
probability that the number of future States would 
exceed that of the existing States, Mr. Sherman 



l62 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

of course had reference to the limits of the country 
as then existing. 

In discussing the articles prohibiting the States 
from doing certain acts, Mr. Sherman, in connec- 
tion with Mr. Wilson, moved to insert, after the 
words " coin money," the words, " nor emit bills of 
credit, nor make anything but gold and silver coin 
a tender in payment of debts ; " making these pro- 
hibitions absolute, instead of making the measures 
allowable, as in the 13th article, with the consent 
of the legislature of the United States. 

Mr. Gorham thought the purpose would be as 
well secured by the provision of article 13, which 
makes the consent of the general legislature neces- 
sary ; and that, in that mode, no opposition would 
be excited; whereas, an absolute prohibition of 
paper money would rouse the most desperate op- 
position from its partisans. 

Mr. Sherman thought this a favorable crisis for 
crushing paper money. If the consent of the leg- 
islature could authorize emissions of it, the friends 
of paper money would make every exertion to get 
into the legislature in order to license it. 

The motion prevailed by a vote of eight to one. 

There was a long argument as to whether repre- 
sentation in t|je first branch should be according 
to population, or wealth, or payment of taxes. 
Dr. Johnson, in favoring population, proposed to 
include the blacks equally with the whites. He 
said "that wealth and population were the true, 
equitable rules of representation ; but he conceived 
that these two principles resolved themselves into 
one, population being the best measure of wealth. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 163 

He concluded, therefore, that the number of people 
ought to be established as the rule, and that all 
descriptions, including blacks equally with the 
whites, ought to fall within the computation." 

The strongest speech made by Mr. Ellsworth in 
the convention was in the form of two questions, 
addressed to Wilson and Madison at the close of 
two able speeches by those gentlemen, in which 
the Continental Congress was severely criticised, 
and the plan of giving the States an equal repre- 
sentation in the Senate was condemned as unjust 
and unsafe. 

"Mr. Ellsworth asked two questions. One of 
Mr. Wilson, whether he had ever seen a good 
measure fail in Congress for want of a majority of 
States in favor. He had himself never known such 
an instance. The other of Mr. Madison, whether 
a negative lodged with a majority of States, even 
the smallest, could be more dangerous than the 
qualified negative proposed to be lodged in a 
single executive magistrate, who must be taken 
from some one State." 

It is a singular fact that those delegates who 
favored the strongest form of a national govern- 
ment were also in favor of electing both branches 
of the legislature and the President, either directly 
or indirectly, by the people ; while their opponents, 
who thought their views tended to monarchy or 
aristocracy, were unwilling to give this power to 
the people, as incapable of exercising it aright. 

Another noticeable fact is that some of the 
ablest men in the convention proposed some of the 
unwisest measures. Franklin proposed that neither 



1 64 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

the Senators nor President should receive any sal- 
ary. Gouverneur Morris, as we have seen, favored 
an unjust discrimination against the Western States. 
Hamilton proposed that the President and Senators 
should hold their office during good behavior, 
though he afterwards changed his views on that 
subject. Madison at one time voted in favor of a 
presidency during good behavior.. 

Mr. Sherman, as we have seen, fell into errors, 
like others ; but, in the end, he gave in his adhe- 
sion to those measures which were essential to the 
formation of a strong general government. He 
showed the highest qualities of a statesman, in 
knowing when to compromise, and when to be 
firm. He insisted upon an equal representation of 
the States in the Senate ; but to obtain this he was 
ready to give up many things which he at first ad- 
vocated, such as a single legislative House, and the 
election of Representatives as well as Senators by 
the State legislatures. While inflexible in his de- 
termination to give the States the power which he 
deemed essential to protect them from the gen- 
eral government, he was equally firm in his refusal 
to give the States the power to emit bills of credit, 
which he deemed injurious to the general welfare. 

On the 17th of September, the convention closed 
its labors, after a session of nearly four months. 
The Constitution was signed by all the members 
present, except Randolph, Mason, and Gerry. No 
member was perfectly satisfied with it, but it was felt 
that, under the circumstances, it was the best that 
could be formed. With the exception of those who 
refused to sign, all went home with the purpose of 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 1 6$ 

putting forth their best efforts to secure its adoption. 
As the years have gone by, the strength and the 
excellence of the Constitution have become more 
and more apparent until at last we have come to 
regard it with something of the sacred veneration 
with which Burke regarded the British Constitu- 
tion. Of the members who signed the Constitu- 
tion, Mr. Sherman is the only one who also signed 
the three other great national compacts, namely : 
the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of 
Independence, and the Association of 1774. 

In the Senate of the United States, on the 20th 
of February, 1847, John C. Calhoun said " that it 
was owing mainly to the States of Connecticut and 
New Jersey that we had a federal instead of a na- 
tional government; the best government instead 
of the most intolerable on earth. Who are the 
men of those States to whom we are indebted for 
this admirable government? I will name them; 
their names ought to be engraved on brass and 
live forever. They were Chief Justice Ellsworth 
and Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, and Judge 
Patterson, of New Jersey. To the coolness and 
sagacity of these three men, aided by a few others 
not so prominent, we owe the present Constitution." 

In 1 861, the followers of Calhoun discovered, to 
their dismay, that they had to deal, not with a fed- 
eral, but with a national government. The State 
of Connecticut may justly take pride in the fact, 
that it was largely owing to the wise and concilia- 
tory spirit of Roger Sherman that the convention 
which framed our National Constitution was not 
held in vain. 



l66 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 

It is remarkable that some of the most dis- 
tinguished leaders of the revolution were either 
hostile or indifferent to the adoption of the 
National Constitution, without which the revolu- 
tion would have been of no avail. In Virginia, 
Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee were 
among the strongest opponents of the Constitution, 
and in Massachusetts, Samuel Adams did not give 
his assent to it till the last moment. 

The smallest State in the Union, Delaware, was 
the first to ratify, and its ratification was unani- 
mous. Pennsylvania, one of the largest States, 
was the next to follow, with a vote of two to one in 
favor of ratification. New Jersey and Georgia 
speedily followed, each with a unanimous vote for 
the Constitution. The contest was close in Massa- 
chusetts, but the friends of the Constitution finally 
prevailed by a majority of nineteen in a convention 
of three hundred and fifty-five. The issue was 
long in doubt in Virginia, and but for the influence 
of Washington even the small majority of ten for 
ratification could hardly have been obtained. In 
the New York Convention, the opponents of ratifi- 
cation were at first in a majority of two to one ; 
and nothing apparently but the genius of Hamilton 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED, 1 6/ 

could have obtained from that convention a 
majority of three in favor of the Constitution. 

In Connecticut, the opposition to the Constitu- 
tion was led by General Wadsworth ; but, as was 
stated in the New Haven Gazette, " All the objec- 
tions to the Constitution vanished before the learn- 
ing and eloquence of a Johnson, the genuine good 
sense and discernment of a Sherman, and the 
Demosthenean energy of an Ellsworth." The vote 
for ratification was one hundred and twenty-eight 
to forty. Sketches of the speeches of Johnson and 
Ellsworth were published in the papers, but none 
of Sherman's have been preserved. 

A series of articles on the Constitution was 
published by Mr. Sherman in the papers, which 
are said to have materially influenced the public 
mind in favor of its adoption. Soon after the con- 
vention had concluded its labors, Mr. Sherman ex- 
pressed his opinion of the Constitution which had 
been agreed upon, in a letter to General Floyd. 
" Perhaps," he remarks, " a better could not be 
made upon mere speculation ; it was consented to 
by all the States present in convention, which is a 
circumstance in its favor, so far as any respect is 
due to them. If, upon experience, it should be 
found deficient, it provides an easy and peaceable 
mode of making amendments. If it should not be 
adopted, I think we shall be in deplorable circum- 
stances. Our credit as a nation is sinking ; the re- 
sources of the country could not be drawn out 
to defend against a foreign invasion, nor the forces 
of the Union, to prevent a civil war. But, if the 
Constitution should be adopted, and the several 



l68 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN^. 

States choose some of their wisest and best men, 
from time to time, to administer the government, I 
beheve it will not want any amendment. I hope 
that kind Providence, which guarded these States 
through a dangerous and distressing war to peace 
and liberty, will still watch over them and guide 
them in the way of safety." 

In the absence of any speeches of Mr. Sherman, 
the following documents doubtless give substan- 
tially the arguments that he made use of in the 
Connecticut Convention. The first is the letter ad- 
dressed to Governor Huntington by Roger Sherman 
and Oliver Ellsworth as delegates to the Constitu- 
tional Convention. It was not signed by Dr. 
Johnson, as he was then in Congress, in New 
York. 

New London, September 26^ 1787. 

Sir, — We have the honor to transmit to your 
excellency a printed copy of the Constitution 
formed by the Federal Convention, to be laid be- 
fore the legislature of the State. 

The general principles which governed the Con- 
vention in their deliberations on the subject are 
stated in their address to Congress. 

We think it may be of use to make some further 
observations on particular parts of the Constitution. 

The Congress is differently organized; yet the 
whole number of members, and this State's pro- 
portion of suffrage, remain the same as before. 

The equal representation of the States in the 
Senate, and the voice of that branch in the appoint- 
ment to office, will secure the rights of the lesser, 
as well as of the greater States. 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED, 1 69 

Some additional powers are vested in Congress, 
which was a principal object that the States had in 
view in appointing the Convention. Those powers 
extend only to matters respecting the common 
interests of the Union, and are specially defined, 
so that the particular States retain their sover- 
eignty in all other matters. 

The objects for which Congress may apply 
moneys are the same mentioned in the eighth 
article of the Confederation, viz, for the common 
defence and general welfare, and for payment of 
the debts incurred for those purposes. It is prob- 
able that the principal branch of revenue will be 
duties on imports. What may be necessary to be 
raised by direct taxation is to be apportioned on 
the several States, according to the number of their 
inhabitants ; and although Congress may raise the 
money by their own authority, if necessary, yet 
that authority need not be exercised, if each State 
will furnish its quota. 

The restraint on the legislatures of the several 
States respecting emitting bills of credit, making 
any thing but money a tender in payment of debts, 
or impairing the obligation of contracts by ex post 
facto laws, was thought necessary as a security to 
commerce, in which the interest of foreigners, as 
well as of the citizens of different States, may be 
affected. 

The Convention endeavored to provide for the 
energy of government on the one hand, and suit- 
able checks on the other hand, to secure the rights 
of the particular States, and the liberties and prop- 
erties of the citizens. We wish it may meet the 



170 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

approbation of the several States, and be a means 
of securing their rights, and lengthening out their 
tranquillity. With great respect, we are, sir, your 
excellency's obedient, humble servants, 

Roger Sherman. 

Oliver Ellsworth. 

His Excellency, Governor Huntington. 

The next document, found among Mr. Sherman's 
manuscripts, is entitled, " Observations on the new 
Federal Constitution." It does not appear whether 
this paper was prepared for publication, or as a 
memorandum for a speech before the Convention. 
The substance of this and the next paper were 
afterward embodied in an article published in the 
New Haven Gazette. 

" Observations on the new Federal Constitution. 

" A conviction that the present Confederation is 
deficient to give respectability and security to the 
United States was the motive with the several 
States to appoint a convention to make amend- 
ments. 

" It was deficient in the organization of the 
government, and with respect to the powers neces- 
sary for the common defence and general welfare 
of the Union. 

" One principal defect in the government was 
the want of a Supreme Executive power. Congress 
exercises that power when sitting, and a committee 
of the States in the recess of Congress, which has 
been found to be very inadequate for the purposes 
of government. The frequent changing the mem- 
bers of that body and their being vested with legis- 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 1J\ 

lative as well as executive authority, renders their 
administration slow, unstable, and precarious. 

"But the want of sufficient power was still a 
greater evil — they had power to enter into en- 
gagements, but no power to fulfil them, and there is 
no security in trusting to the legislatures of the 
several States to provide for the exigencies of the 
Union upon requisition. The want of a power 
to regulate commerce with foreign nations and 
among the several States, and to enforce a due 
observation of treaties, has been very detrimental 
to the interests of the States and the cause of lessen- 
ing their national credit These defects will be sup- 
plied by the new Constitution if adopted. There 
are some other powers vested in the general 
government which relate to the common interests 
of the Union, and are particularly defined, so that 
each State retains its sovereignty in what concerns 
its own internal government, and a right to exer- 
cise every power of a sovereign State not delegated 
to the government of the United States. And 
although the government of the United States in 
matters within its jurisdiction is paramount to the 
Constitutions and laws of the particular States, yet 
all acts of the Congress not warranted by the Con- 
stitution would be void, nor could they be enforced 
contrary to the sense of a majority of the States. 
When the general government acts within its 
proper jurisdiction, it will be the interest of the 
legislatures of the several States to support it, and 
they will be a check sufficiently powerful to pre- 
vent unconstitutional incroachments on the rights 
and privileges of the particular States, but the 



1/2 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

jurisdiction of each will be so easily distinguished 
that there will be no great danger of interference. 

" In order to a well regulated government the 
legislature should be properly constituted, and 
vested with plenary powers for all the purposes 
for which it is instituted, to be exercised for the 
public good as occasion may require. The great- 
est possible security that a people can have for 
the enjoyment of their civil rights and liberties, is 
that no laws can be made to bind them or taxes 
be imposed on them without their consent by rep- 
resentatives of their own choosing — this was the 
great point contended for in our controversy with 
Great Britain, and this will be fully secured to us 
under the new Constitution. The rights of the 
people will be secured by a representation in pro- 
portion to their numbers in one branch of the 
Congress, and the rights of the several States by 
their equal representation in the other branch. 
This will be a much greater security than a dec- 
laration of rights or restraining clauses on paper. 

" A farther security will be that the representa- 
tives, and the people they represent, will have one 
common interest, and will participate in the bene- 
fits and burdens of the public measures. 

"The President and Vice President as well as 
the members of Congress, though chosen for fixed 
periods, will be re-eligible as often as the electors 
shall think proper, which will be a great security 
for their fidelity in office, and will give much 
greater stability and energy to government than 
an exclusion by rotation, and will always be an 
operative and effectual security against arbitrary 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED, 1 73 

government, either monarchical or aristocratic. 
There is as much security in the new Constitution 
as in the present against keeping up standing 
armies in time of peace ; it can't be done without 
the consent of Congress, with this additional se- 
curity that it will require the concurrence of two 
branches, and that no law appropriating money 
for that purpose can be in force for more than 
two years. 

" The liberty of the press not being the regula- 
tion of Congress will be in no danger. There are 
but few powers vested in the new government but 
what the present Congress have power to do or 
require to be done. The new powers are to regu- 
late commerce, provide for a uniform practice with 
respect to naturalization, bankruptcies, and form- 
ing and training the militia, and for the punishment 
of certain crimes against the United States, and 
for promoting the progress of science in the mode 
therein pointed out. These appear to be neces- 
sary for the common benefit of the Union, and 
can't be effectually provided for by the particular 
States; therefore the objection that the conven- 
tion exceeded the authority given by the States is 
groundless, for, though they have formed a new 
instrument including the former and additional 
powers, yet it is no more J:han an amendment of 
the present Constitution in those matters wherein 
it was really deficient. 

"The objects of expenditure are the same as 
under the present Constitution, and why should 
this system be more expensive than the present? 
The number of the members of Congress is the 



174 ^-^-ff ^^P^ OF ROGER SHERMAir, 

same — that number may be increased with the 
increase of the people, but then it is probable that 
the wealth of the State will be proportionably 
increased. The executive is vested in a single 
person, whose support will not probably exceed 
the present allowance to the President of Congress 
and the pay of a committee of the States. The sub- 
ordinate officers need not be more numerous, nor 
have larger salaries than at present; the expense 
of collecting the impost will be transferred from 
the particular States to the United States, but need 
not be greater than at present. — The principal 
sources of revenue will be imposts on goods im- 
ported, and sale of the western lands, which prob- 
ably will be sufficient to pay the debts and expenses 
of the United States if properly managed, so long 
as peace continues ; but should there be occasion 
to resort to direct taxation, each State's quota will 
be ascertained according to a rule which has been 
approved by eleven of the States, and should any 
State neglect to furnish its quota, Congress may 
raise it by a tax in the same manner as the State 
ought to have done. And what remedy more 
easy and equitable could be devised to obtain the 
supplies from a delinquent State? Some have 
objected that the representation will be inadequate, 
but the States have never thought fit to keep up 
the full representation they are entitled to in Con- 
gress ; and of what possible advantage can it be 
to have a very large Assembly to transact the few 
general matters that will come under the direction 
of Congress, sufficient information may be had 
from the legislatures of the several States in the 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED, 1 75 

matters that the members of Congress are not 
personally acquainted with. The regulating the 
time, place, and mode of elections seems to be as 
well secured as possible. The legislature of each 
State may do it, and if they neglect to do it prop- 
erly, it may be done by Congress, and what possi- 
ble motive can either have to injure the people in 
the exercise of that right? The qualifications of 
the electors will remain as fixed by the constitu- 
tions or laws of the several States. 

" The power of the President to grant pardons 
extends only to offences against the United States, 
with exception of impeachments, which is a sufii- 
cient security for seclusion of offenders from office ; 
therefore no great mischief can be apprehended 
from that quarter. — The partial negative of the 
President on the acts of Congress and the rescission 
in consequence thereof may be very useful to pre- 
vent laws being passed without mature deliberation. 
— The Vice President, while he acts as President of 
the Senate, will have nothing to do in the execu- 
tive department, his being elected by the suffrage 
of all the States will incline him to regard equally 
the interests of all — and when the members of the 
Senate are equally divided on a question, who so 
proper to give a casting voice, as one who repre- 
sents all the States?" 

The next paper is a letter, dated December 8, 
1787, which repeats, with some variations, the 
arguments set forth in the preceding paper, and 
contains, in addition, the following statements. To 
the objection that there was no Bill of Rights in 
the Constitution, Mr. Sherman replies : — 



176 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

** Declarations of rights in England were charters 
granted by Princes, or acts of Parliament made to 
limit the prerogatives of the crown, but not to 
abridge the powers of the legislature. — These 
observations duly considered will obviate most of 
the objections that have been made against the 
Constitution." 

In reference to the judicial powers conferred 
by the Constitution, he says : — " It was thought 
necessary in order to carry into effect the laws of 
the Union, and to preserve justice and harmony 
among the States, to extend the judicial powers of 
the confederacy ; they cannot be extended beyond 
the enumerated cases, but may be limited by 
Congress, and doubtless will be restricted to such 
cases of importance and magnitude as cannot 
safely be trusted to the final decision of the courts 
of the particular States ; the Supreme Court may 
have a circuit through all the States to make the 
trials as convenient and as little expensive to the 
parties as may be; and the trial by jury will 
doubtless be "allowed in cases proper for that mode 
of trial, nor will the people in general be at all 
affected by the judiciary of the United States ; per- 
haps not one to a hundred of the citizens will ever 
have a cause that can come within its jurisdiction, 
for all causes between citizens of the same States, 
except where they claim lands under grants of 
different States, must be finally decided by the 
courts of the State to which they belong." 

Some of the States, in connection with their act 
of ratification, passed resolutions recommending 
certain amendments to the Constitution. To these 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 1 77 

Mr. Sherman was strongly opposed, and published 
the following article on the subject : — 

Observations. 

On the alterations proposed as amendments to 
the new Federal Constitution. 

Six of the States have adopted the new Consti- 
tution without proposing any alterations, and the 
most of those proposed by the conventions of 
other States may be provided for by Congress in a 
code of laws without altering the Constitution. If 
Congress may be safely trusted with the affairs of 
the Union, and have sufficient power for that pur- 
pose, and possess no powers but such as respect 
the common interest of the States (as I have en- 
deavored to show in a former piece), then all the 
matters that can be regulated by law may be safely 
left to their direction, and those will include all 
that I have noticed, except the following, which I 
think on due consideration will appear to be im- 
proper or unnecessary. 

I. It is proposed that the consent of two-thirds 
or three-fourths of the members present in each 
branch of the Congress shall be required for pass- 
ing certain acts. 

On which I would observe, that this would give 
a minority in Congress power to control the 
majority, joined with the concurrent voice of the 
President, for if the President differs, no act can 
pass without the consent of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers in each branch of Congress ; and would not 
that be contrary to the general principles of repub- 
lican government? 



1/8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

2. That impeachments ought not to be tried by 
the Senate, or not by the Senate alone. 

But what good reason can be assigned why the 
Senate is not the most proper tribunal for that 
purpose? — The members are to be chosen by the 
legislatures of the several States, who will doubt- 
less appoint persons of wisdom and probity, and 
from their office can have no interested motives to 
partiality. The House of Peers in Great Britain 
try impeachments, and are also a branch of the 
legislature. 

3. It is said that the President ought not to have 
power to grant pardons in cases of high treason, 
but the Congress. 

It does not appear that any great mischief can 
arise from the exercise of this power by the Presi- 
dent (though perhaps it might as well have been 
lodged in Congress). The President cannot par- 
don in case of impeachment, so that such offenders 
may be excluded from office notwithstanding his 
pardon. 

4. It is proposed that members of Congress be 
rendered ineligible to any other office during the 
time for which they are elected members of that 
body. 

This is an objection that will admit of something 
plausible to be said on both sides, and it was set- 
tled in convention on full discussion and delibera- 
tion, there are some offices which a member of 
Congress may be best qualified to fill, from his 
knowledge of public affairs acquired by being a 
member. Such as minister to foreign courts, &c. 
and on accepting any other office his seat in Con- 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED, 1 79 

gress will be vacated, and no member is eligible to 
any office that shall have been instituted or the 
emoluments increased while he was a member. 

5. It is proposed to make the President and 
Senators ineligible after certain periods. 

But this would abridge the privilege of the 
people, and remove one great motive to fidelity 
in office, and render persons incapable of serving 
in 'offices on account of their experience, which 
would best qualify them for usefulness in office — 
but if their services are not acceptable, they may be 
left out at any new election. 

6. It is proposed that no commercial treaty 
should be made without the consent of two-thirds 
of the Senators, nor any cession of territory, right 
of navigation or fishery, without the consent of 
three-fourths of the members present in each 
branch of Congress. 

It is provided by the Constitution that no 
commercial treaty shall be made by the President 
without the consent of two-thirds of the Senators 
present, and as each State has an equal representa- 
tion and suffrage in the Senate, the rights of the 
States will be as well secured under the new Con- 
stitution as under the old ; and it is not probable 
that they would ever make a cession of territory 
or any important national right without the con- 
sent of Congress. The king of Great Britain has 
by the Constitution a power to make treaties, yet 
in matters of great importance he consults the 
Parliament. 

7. There is one amendment proposed by the 
convention of South Carolina respecting religious 
tests, by inserting the word other between the 



l80 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

words no and religious in that article, which is 
an ingenious thought, and had that word been in- 
serted, it would probably have prevented any 
objection on that head. But it may be considered 
as a clerical omission and be inserted without call- 
ing a convention ; as it now stands the effect will 
be the same. 

On the whole it is hoped that all the States will 
consent to make a trial of the Constitution before 
they attempt to alter it ; experience will best show 
whether it is deficient or not ; on trial it may ap- 
pear that the alterations that have been proposed 
are not necessary, or that others not yet thought 
of may be necessary ; every thing that tends to dis- 
union ought to be avoided. Instability in govern- 
ment and laws tends to weaken a State and render 
the rights of the people precarious. 

If another convention should be called to revise 
the Constitution, 'tis not likely they would be more 
unanimous than the former ; they might judge dif- 
ferently in some things, but is it certain that they 
would judge better? When experience has con- 
vinced the States and people in general that alter- 
ations are necessary, they may be easily made, but 
attempting it at present may be detrimental, if not 
fatal, to the union of the States. 

The judiciary department is perhaps the most 
difficult to be precisely limited by the Constitution, 
but Congress have full power to regulate it by law, 
and it may be found necessary to vary the regula- 
tions at different times as circumstances may differ. 

Congress may make requisitions for supplies 
previous to direct taxation, if it should be thought 
expedient, but if requisitions be made, and some 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. l8l 

States comply and others not, the non-complying 
States must be considered and treated as delin- 
quents, which will tend to excite disaffection and 
disunion among the States, besides occasioning de- 
lay ; but if Congress lay the taxes in the first in- 
stance, these evils will be prevented, and they will 
doubtless accommodate the taxes to the customs 
and convenience of the several States. 

Some suppose that the representation will be 
too small, but I think it is in the power of Con- 
gress to make it too large, but I believe it may be 
safely trusted with them. Great Britain contains 
about three times the number of the inhabitants in 
the United States, and according to Burgh's account 
in his political disquisitions, the members of Parli- 
ament in that kingdom do not exceed one hundred 
thirty-one [from the counties?], and if sixty-nine 
more be added from the principal cities and towns, 
the number would be two hundred, and strike off 
those who are elected by the small boroughs, which 
are called the rotten part of the Constitution by 
their best patriots and politicians, that nation 
would be more equally and better represented 
than at present, and if that would be a sufficient 
number for their national legislature, one-third of 
that number will be more than sufficient for our 
federal legislature, who will have a few general 
matters to transact. But these and other objec- 
tions have been considered in a former paper, 
before referred to. I shall therefore conclude this 
with my best wishes for the continuance of peace, 
liberty, and union of these States. 

A Citizen of New Haven. 



1 82 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE SUPERIOR COURT. 

At the January session, 1789, of the Connecti- 
cut Assembly, Roger Sherman was chosen a Rep- 
resentative in Congress. As this office and that 
of Judge of the Superior Court of the State were 
made incompatible by the laws of the State, Mr. 
Sherman resigned the latter office, which he. had 
held, by annual election, for twenty-three years. 
That he should have been continued in this high 
office for so long a period, during a portion of 
which he had as associates such men as William 
Samuel Johnson and Oliver Ellsworth, the ablest 
men at the bar, shows the high esteem in which he 
must have been held by the legal profession, as 
well as by the community at large. 

In the biography of Roger Sherman in Sander- 
son's " Lives," it is said of his services as a judge : 
" It is uniformly acknowledged by those who have 
witnessed his conduct and abilities on the bench, 
that he discovered, in the application of the princi- 
ples of law and the rules of evidence to the cases 
before him, the same sagacity that distinguished 
him as a legislator. His legal opinions werei re- 
ceived with great deference by the profession, 
and their correctness was almost universally 
acknowledged." 



THE SUPERIOR COURT. 183 

In another passage in the same biography, 
Mr. Sherman's judicial qualifications are thus 
described : — 

" The genius and talents of Mr. Sherman were 
particularly calculated for eminent usefulness in the 
judiciary department. Cool, attentive, deliberate, 
and impartial, skilled in all forms and principles of 
law, he was not liable to be misled by arts of 
sophistry, or the warmth of declamation. He 
formed his opinions on a careful examination of 
every subject, and delivered them with dignity and 
perspicuity. His decisions were too firmly founded 
on correct and admitted principles to be readily 
shaken, and he necessarily enjoyed, in his im- 
portant judicial station, a confidence and esteem 
highly honorable to himself, as well as to the pro- 
fessional gentlemen by whom those sentiments 
were entertained. 

"But, although the testimonies of individuals, 
whose profession and opportunities enabled them 
to decide, with peculiar exactness, upon the 
judicial character of Mr. Sherman, are almost 
affirmatively unanimous, yet that unanimity was 
not confined to the limits of the forum. The 
public at large, and especially that portion of 
it which, during the long period that he held his 
official station, had been interested in the proceed- 
ings of the court, entertained the same sentiments 
in relation to his abilities, his purity, and his 
integrity." 

Very few of the opinions of the Superior Court 
of that early day have been preserved. But from 
the records of that court we select a few opinions 



1 84 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAAT. 

which, being in Mr. Sherman's handwriting, were 
evidently prepared by him. 

N. London County ) Mumford vs. Avery 
Sept. Term 1786 1 Action of Account. 

The defendant's motion in arrest is judged 
insufficient. 

The only exception to the declaration is that 
Action of Account will not lie, in this case, because 
a certain sum of money, and certain bills of ex- 
change are alleged to have been received to be de- 
livered over to the plaintiff, for which Action of 
Assumpsit would be the proper remedy, and not 
Action of Account. 

But it is the opinion of the court that Action of 
Account will lie in any case where a person has 
received monies to the use of another, especially if 
it be received of a third person to be delivered 
over to the plaintiff, and although Action of 
Assumpsit might be brought for the same, yet an 
Action of Account is most favorable for the 
defendant. 

Hartford County "> ^, , ^ , , . , 
March Term 1788 I ^^^^ left's plea m bar 
Coomes vs. Prior) insufficient. 

In a former action between the same parties 
wherein the present plaintiff was defendant, a ver- 
dict was found and a judgment rendered against 
him on his plea of title to the land now demanded, 
but that was only an action of trespass for the re- 
covery of damages. This being an action for the 
recovery of the land is of a higher nature, therefore 



THE SUPERIOR COURT, 1 85 

a recovery in that ought not to be a bar to this, 
for the party may be able to produce further evi- 
dence in support of his title than was produced on 
the former trial, and this is admissible by the uni- 
form practice of the courts of law in this State, as 
well as in England in favor of Estates of inheri- 
tance. See 4 Bacon's Abridgment, 119. There- 
fore we are of opinion that the defendant's plea is 
insufficient. 

Middlesex County \ 

July Term r The PlaintiflE's Replication adjudged 

Marshall v. Miller k sufficient. 

and Henshaw. ' 

In this case the defendants jointly promised to 
pay a sum of money to the plaintiff by a note in 
writing under their hands, but Henshaw, one of 
the defendants, being insolvent, was by an act of 
the legislature discharged from all his debts on his 
delivering up all his estate for the benefit of his 
creditors, which he had complied with, and now 
the question is whether this note is thereby dis- 
charged, on which judgment is rendered against 
Miller, the other defendant for the whole debt. If 
one joint obligor is discharged by an act of the 
obligee, it is presumed that he hath received satis- 
faction, and therefore is a discharge of the obliga- 
tion, but if one of the joint obligors dies or is 
discharged by an act of the legislature which does 
not extend to the other, no such presumption 
ariseth and therefore the other is liable alone to 
pay the debt. See the rules and principles of law 
on this point considered and stated more fully in a 



1 86 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

late case determined in this county between Mor- 
timer and Caldwell. 

. », ^oo ? Plaintiff's Replication in- 

Aug.Term 1788 V . ^ 

Blackman v, Fairchild. ) 

The action is on a promissory note ; — which the 
defendant pleads was an arbitration note, and that 
the instructions to the arbitrators were a written 
award, which they have not made. The plaintiff 
replies that their instructions were a verbal award 
and to indorse down the note to the sum they 
should find due, both of which he states their per- 
formance of; and traverses " that their instructions 
were to make a written award, otherwise than by 
indorsing down said note," which is not a direct 
traverse, but argumentative only, and therefore ill. 
No issue could be joined upon it without the de- 
fendant's affirming over differently from what he 
had pled in bar, which he was not bound to do. 
The defendant's averment that the instructions 
were a written award, was a material one, and it 
behoved the plaintiff to submit as a question of 
law to the court, whether the doings of the arbitra- 
tors amounted to a written award, or of fact to the 
jury, whether such were their instructions, but he 
has done neither. 

For which reasons we think his replication in- 
sufficient. 

(The following dissenting opinion is in the hand- 
writing of Roger Sherman, except the end of it, 
which IS in that of Judge Law.) 



THE SUPERIOR COURT. 1 8/ 

Fairfield County \ Judgment for the Defendant 

August Term 1788 > that the Plaintiff's reply 
Blackman v. Fairchild. ' is insufficient. 

We dissent from the judgment because it is ad- 
mitted that the plaintiff in his replication hath set 
forth a good and legal parol submission and award, 
and he hath traversed the only material fact alleged 
in the defendant's plea in bar viz., that the arbitra- 
tors were instructed to make and publish their 
award in writings with the addition of these words 
in a parenthesis; viz, ("otherwise than by en- 
dorsing down said note ") which is the only excep- 
tion taken to the reply which words we are of 
opinion are merely surplusage, and no way re- 
pugnant to the other matters contained in the 
plaintiff's replication and therefore do not vitiate 
it. But the defendant ought to have joined the 
traverse by reaffirming the said fact as alleged in 
his plea in bar, which would have laid a sufficient 
foundation for a fair trial and legal judgment in 
the case. And the law delights in establishing 
pleadings as well as awards when it can be done 
consistent with substantial justice, any circumstan- 
tial defects or informalities notwithstanding. 

(The opinion so far is in the handwriting of 
Roger Sherman ; the rest of it is in that of Judge 
Law, as follows : ) The plaintiff by setting forth in 
his replication, — in what manner the award was 
to be made, thereby strips the pleading of an 
and that might otherwise have been made 

had he directly joined issue upon the traverse 
tendered — viz, whether the instructions were to 
make a written award, — this question of law upon 



1 88 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

such instructions might then arise before the jury, 
whether such an award was a written one or parol, 
as it partly of both, being a mode peculiar 

to our practice and unknown in the British Rules 
— whereas the plaintiff has now fairly disclosed 
that question to the court unless the defendant 
will give it up. 

Windham County ^ ^^ piaintifE's reply 
Jan.adj.Termi789^ Sufficient. 
Hamlm v. Fitch. J 

For the reasons rendered in the same case on a 
motion in arrest of judgment. The contract which 
is alleged in the defendant's plea to be usurious was 
not a loan of money, goods, wares or commodities 
within the description of the Statute against usury 
but was a bargain respecting certain final settle- 
ment certificates of uncertain value, there being 
no time fixed or funds provided for their payment, 
and their current value was fluctuating, and did in 
fact depreciate between the time of the defendant's 
receiving the certificates, and the time fixed for 
the payment of them the value of the one thousand 
hard dollars secured by the other note — They 
were issued by government as securities for the 
nominal amount in hard money, and if the plaintiff 
had sold them to the defendant and taken his 
security for the payment of the nominal sum in 
hard money it would have been a much more une- 
qual bargain than that now in question, but no 
one would contend that it would have been a usu- 
rious contract, and although the note is to repay 
the same certificates or others of like tenor date 



THE SUPERIOR COURT, 189 

and value with lawful interest. Yet the value of 
both principal and interest were in hazard of de- 
preciation, and the law regards the substance more 
than the form of a contract. The Statute of this 
State prohibits the taking more than the value of 
six pounds for the forbearance of one hundred 
pounds for a year, but it does not prohibit the 
taking more in quantity of any commodity of un- 
certain value, than at the rate of six per cent 
per annum. For instance, if a man lends twenty 
bushels of corn before harvest when the market 
price is four shillings per bushel, and receives 
forty bushels in payment after harvest when corn 
is but two shillings per bushel, he receives no more 
than the value of the principal lent, although he 
receives double the quantity. 

The following principles are advanced by the 
Judges as law in the case of Murray against Hard- 
ing, 2 Blackstone's Reports page 863. Degrey, 
Chief Justice. " It is essential to a loan that the 
thing borrowed is at all events to be restored. If 
that be bona fide put in hazard, it is no loan, but 
a contract of another kind." 865 — Blackstone, 
Justice, " I do not know an instance, where the 
principal is bona fide hazarded, that the contract 
has been held to be usurious." " If the price be 
inadequate to the hazard, it may be an imposition, 
and under some circumstances relievable in equity ; 
but it cannot be legal usury." The other Judges 
concurred. We are therefore of opinion that judg- 
ment be given for the plaintiff. "^ 

Law. 

Sherman. 



190 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Judge Ellsworth concurred in opinion, but was 
absent when these reasons were assigned. 

December 2, 1772, Mr. Sherman wrote to Thomas 
Gushing, of Boston, the following letter, in refer- 
ence to equity proceedings in Massachusetts and 
Connecticut : — 

Sir, — I should be glad to be informed how mat- 
ters of equity are determined in your Province, 
also your method of proceeding on petitions be- 
fore the General Assembly, whether the parties are 
ever admitted to be heard viva voce before the 
whole Assembly or before either House. In this 
Colony matters of equity are determined by the 
Assembly, and the parties are admitted to be heard 
at large before both Houses as in trials before the 
Executive Courts, but as business of that kind 
increases it is become very burthensome arid ex- 
pensive for the whole Assembly to sit to hear them, 
and we have had some thoughts of erecting a Court 
of Chancery — but 'tis feared by many that that 
will be attended with inconveniences, and as your 
Province is much larger than this Colony and you 
have hitherto done without a Court of Chancery, a 
few lines from you on your method of proceeding 
in those affairs will much oblige your humble 
servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

The Revised Laws of Connecticut, prepared by 
Mr. Sherman and Mr. Law in 1784, constituted the 
Superior Court a Court of Equity. 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 191 

CHAPTER XL 

SERVICES IN CONGRESS. — FIRST SESSION, 1 789. 

Part I. — Impost Law, &c. 

On being notified of his election as a representa- 
tive in Congress, Mr. Sherman addressed the fol- 
lowing letter to Governor Huntington. 

New Haven, Jan. 7th, 1789. 
Sir, — I have a grateful sense of the honor done 
me by the freemen of this State in electing me one 
of their representatives in the Congress of the 
United States. This fresh instance of their confi- 
dence lays me under an additional obligation to 
devote my time to their service. The trust I es- 
teem very weighty and important in the present 
situation of public affairs. I could therefore have 
wished that their choice had been fixed on some 
other person in my stead, better able to sustain the 
weight and perform the services of that office, es- 
pecially as I hold another in the State which as the 
law now stands is incompatible with holding this 
at the same time. I wish to employ my time in 
such service as may be most beneficial and accept- 
able to my country. Much of my time since the 
commencement of the late war has been employed 
at a distance from home, and as I have a numerous 
family to provide for, it would be most agreeable 
to me to be in a situation wherein I might pay 
some attention to their affairs. But if the honor- 



192 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

able the Legislature shall think fit to provide that 
my acceptance of this office shall not vacate my 
office in the Superior Court until their further 
pleasure shall be made known, I will accept the 
trust to which I have been elected by the freemen, 
(I do not wish to hold any office otherwise than 
subject to their pleasure) but if in their wisdom 
they shall not think fit to make such provision, I 
shall desire a little further time to consider and ad- 
vise on the matter. I have the honor to be with 
great respect your excellency's most obedient 
humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

His Excellency, Governor Huntington. 

Although the legislature of Connecticut did not 
make the provision proposed by Mr. Sherman in 
the above letter, he decided to accept the position 
of Representative in Congress, and resigned his 
position on the bench of the Superior Court. 
March S, 1789, Mr. Sherman took his seat in the 
House of Representatives. A quorum was not 
present till April i, when a speaker was elected. 
April 6, the form of oath to be taken by the 
Representatives, as provided by the Constitution, 
was agreed upon ; and on the same day the pre- 
sence of a quorum in the Senate was notified to the 
House, and the House was informed of the readi- 
ness of the Senate to count the votes for President 
and Vice-President. April 7, it was ordered that 
the Chief Justice of the State of New York be 
requested to attend the House on the next day, 
for the purpose of administering the oath to the 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 193 

members, as provided by the Constitution. On 
April 8, the oath was administered to the mem- 
bers present. 

As soon as the oath was administered to the 
members, the House resolved itself into a Com- 
mittee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and 
began the consideration of certain provisions re- 
lating to import duties and tonnage, introduced by 
Mr. Madison. As the treasury was nearly empty, 
and as it was agreed on all hands that the revenue 
should be raised by impost duties, and not by 
direct taxation, this first tariff bill passed with 
comparatively little discussion. No question was 
raised as to the propriety, or the constitutionality, 
of so arranging the duties as to protect home 
manufactures. The principal points discussed 
were as to the effect of certain duties on different 
parts of the country. 

April II, this subject being under consideration, 
Mr. Sherman gave it as his opinion that in fix- 
ing the duties on particular articles, if they could 
not ascertain the exact quantum, it would be better 
to run the risk of erring in setting low duties than 
high ones, because it was less injurious to com- 
merce to raise them than to lower them; but 
nevertheless he was for laying on duties which 
some gentlemen might think high, as he thought 
it better to derive revenue from impost than from 
direct taxation, or any other method in their 
power. He moved that the article of rum should 
be charged with fifteen cents per gallon. 

The duty on nails, spikes, tacks, and rods be- 
ing objected to, Mr. Sherman said : " The gentle- 

»3 



194 'THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

men object to these articles because they are 
necessary and cannot be furnished in quantities 
equal to the demand ; but I am of opinion, if they 
cannot now be had in such plenty as is wished for, 
they may be in a very short time. Every State 
can manufacture them, although they cannot make 
nail rods. Connecticut has excellent iron ore of 
which bars are made ; but she gets nail rods from 
this city ; others can do the like ; and until every 
State can supply themselves by their own industry, 
for which purpose they have everything at their 
hands, it may not be amiss for the government to 
get some revenue from the consumption of foreign 
nails." 

It was proposed to make discriminating duties 
on spirits, in favor of nations in alliance with us. 
Mr. Sherman said: "I would rather make a dis- 
crimination on any other article than ardent spirits, 
the importation of which does not deserve en- 
couragement from any part of the world." Later 
he said : ** Molasses is an article principally im- 
ported from the colonies of nations in alliance ; a 
discrimination therefore in favor of such molasses 
would be a substantial benefit, and he recom- 
mended it in lieu of that on brandy." 

It was claimed by some that the duties were too 
high. To which Mr. Sherman replied : — 

" If gentlemen prevail in getting the duties low- 
ered to what the late Congress proposed, they will 
find themselves obliged to have recourse to direct 
taxation for a million and a half or two millions of 
dollars. It then only remains for us to consider, 
whether it will be more agreeable to the people to re- 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 1 95 

duce the impost in this manner, and raise the defi- 
ciency by direct taxes. If these duties are to be 
considered as a tax on the trading part of the com- 
munity alone, they are improper ; but this I believe is 
not the case ; the consumer pays them eventually, 
and they pay no more than they choose, because 
they have it in their power to determine the quan- 
tity of taxable articles they will use. A tax left to 
be paid at discretion must be more agreeable than 
any other. The merchant considers that part of 
his capital applied to the payment of the duties 
the same as if employed in trade, and gets the 
same profit upon it as on the original cost of the 
commodity. 

" As to the tax on distilled spirits, it will be felt 
as little as any other whatever; and from this 
source we are to expect a very considerable pro- 
portion of the revenue. . . . The duty on it cannot 
be said to be unequal, as it has been contended on 
other articles: it is pretty generally consumed 
throughout the United States. The State I belong 
to is at a considerable distance from the West 
Indies, yet she consumes no inconsiderable quan- 
tity, much more than I wish she did. The gentle- 
man from South Carolina seems to suppose that 
the duty will bear harder upon his State than upon 
others. I cannot think it will be the case ; but if 
they consume more, they should agree to a high 
duty, in order to lessen the consumption. 

" One gentleman had observed that there is not 
money enough to pay all the duties imposed in 
this bill ; but is it not as easy to introduce money 
as merchandise? When there is a demand for it, 



196 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

the merchants will bring it in, for they can as well 
bring less of a commodity and more money ; so 
that, if this should take place, the objection will 
be done away. It is in this way that we must be 
supplied with cash, because we have neither gold 
nor silver mines to draw from ; if we get it, it must 
be imported, and will be imported, if it is more 
advantageous than the importation of other articles. 

" I think we ought to rely a great deal on the 
virtue of our constituents ; they will be convinced 
of the necessity of a due collection of the revenue ; 
they will know that it must be done in this way, or 
it will be by direct taxation. I believe the people 
will prefer this mode of raising revenue, and will 
give all the assistance in the execution of the law 
that is in their power ; and as the mercantile part 
of the people will see that it is equally laid, 
though it be something higher than the States 
have hitherto required, they will submit them- 
selves to our ordinance, and use their influence 
to aid the collection." 

It having been asserted that the people would 
be unable to pay so high duties as then proposed, 
Mr. Sherman said : — 

" I believe the people are able to pay as much 
as the necessities of the government require; if 
they are not, we shall never restore the public 
credit, which is one of the chief ends of our appoint- 
ment. I believe they are not only able but willing 
to contribute sufficient for this purpose. The re- 
sources of this country are very great if they are 
properly called into action ; and although they may 
not be so great as those of Britain, yet it should 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 1 97 

be remembered that that nation has occasion for 
twelve times as much revenue as the United States. 

" Gentlemen have had recourse to popular opin- 
ion in support of their argument. Popular opinion 
is founded in justice, and the only way to know if 
the popular opinion is in favor of a measure is to 
examine whether the measure is just and right 
in itself. I think whatever is proper and right, 
the people will judge of and comply with. The 
people wish that the government may derive re- 
spect from the justice of its measures ; they have 
given it their support on this account. I believe 
the popular opinion is in favor of raising a rev- 
enue to pay our debts, and if we do right, they 
will not neglect their duty; therefore the argu- 
ments that are urged in favor of a low duty will 
prove that the people are contented with what 
the bill proposes. The people at this time pay a 
higher duty on imported rum than what is pro- 
posed in this system, even in Massachusetts ; it is 
true it is partly laid by way of excise, but I can 
see no reason against doing it in this way as well 
as the other. . . . When gentlemen have recourse 
to public opinion to support their arguments, they 
generally find means to accommodate it to their 
own ; the reason why I think public opinion is in 
favor of the present measure is because this regu- 
lation in itself is reasonable and just. 

" I think if we should not support public credit 
now we have the ability, the people will lose all con- 
fideftce in the government. When they see public 
bodies shrink from their duty what can be expected 
but they will neglect theirs also? It cannot be 



198 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

for the interest of the people of the United 3tates 
that they should continue to pay a high interest, 
and suffer an accumulation of the principal of the 
national debt till some distant period. Will any 
gentleman assure us that the people will then be 
better able to pay it off than at present? Have 
they any certain evidence that we shall grow richer 
as we delay the establishment of our credit and 
the payment of our debts? I think they have 
not ; therefore it is best to get out of debt as fast 
as possible, and while we have the command of 
funds amply sufficient for that purpose." 

It having been proposed to limit the time of the 
continuance of the import duties, Mr. Sherman 
said, " He wished a limitation to the law in gen- 
eral terms, such as until the debt, foreign and 
domestic, is discharged. He thought a short term 
would make an unfavorable impression upon the 
minds of the public creditors, and tend in a great 
measure to cloud the happy prospects that be- 
gan to brighten the political hemisphere of this 
country." 

April 21, the duties on tonnage being under 
consideration, Madison advocated a discrimina- 
tion in favor of those nations having commercial 
treaties with the United States. His remarks 
were especially directed against Great Britain, 
whose commercial policy towards the United States 
he attacked with great severity. Mr. Sherman said 
he would trouble the committee no further than 
just to remark, that the policy of laying a high 
tonnage on foreign vessels,, whether in treaty or 
not in treaty, was at best but a doubtful point. 



^ SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 199 

The regulation is certainly intended as an encour- 
agement to our own shipping ; but if this is not 
to be the consequence of the measure, it must 
be an improper one. If a large duty is laid on 
foreigners coming into our ports, they will be in- 
duced to counteract us by increasing the restraint 
which our vessels already labor under in theirs. 
But sixty cents will surely be too high in the pres- 
ent case, if it is proposed to lay more on foreigners 
not in treaty. Not seeing, therefore, any advantage 
resulting from high duties on tonnage, he should 
vote against the sixty cents. 

May 4, this same subject being under consid- 
eration, Mr. Sherman said, " He was opposed 
to the discrimination. In his opinion, the great 
principle in making treaties with foreign powers 
was to obtain equal and reciprocal advantages to 
what were granted, and in all our measures to gain 
this object the principle ought to be held in view. 
If the business before the House was examined, it 
would appear to be rather founded on principles of 
resentment, because the nation of Great Britain has 
neglected or declined forming a commercial treaty 
with us. He did not know that she discriminates 
between these States and other powers who are not 
in treaty with her, and therefore did not call upon 
us for retaliation ; if we are treated in the same 
manner as those nations, we have no right to com- 
plain. He was not opposed to particular regula- 
tions to obtain the object which the friends of the 
measure had in view; but he did not like this 
mode of doing it, because he feared it would injure 
the interest of the United States." 



200 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

In the debate on this subject on June 2T^ 
Mr. Sherman said, " He was well convinced 
there was a large and decided majority in both 
Houses, and that it was the universal voice of the 
Union, that America should meet commercial re- 
strictions with commercial restrictions; but there 
might be some disagreement about the best way 
to effect this point. He did not think it the voice 
of the people that Congress should lay the com- 
merce of a nation under disadvantages merely be-, 
cause we had no treaty with them. It could not 
appear a solid reason in the minds of gentlemen, 
if they considered the subject carefully ; therefore 
it was not the proper principle for the government 
to act upon. He would mention one that appeared 
to him more equitable, namely, lay a heavy duty 
upon all goods coming from any port or territory 
to which the vessels of the United States are de- 
nied access; this would strike directly at objects 
which the honorable gentlemen had in view, with- 
out glancing upon other ports to which we are 
allowed access." 

On the 13th of May, Mr. Parker, of Virginia, 
moved to impose a duty of ten dollars on each 
slave imported. He hoped such a duty would 
prevent, in some degree, this irrational and in- 
human traffic. 

Mr. Sherman approved of the object of the mo- 
tion, but he did not think this bill was proper to 
embrace the subject. He could not reconcile 
himself to the insertion of human beings as an 
article of duty among goods, wares, and mer- 
chandise. He hoped it would be withdrawn for 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 201 

the present, and taken up hereafter as an inde- 
pendent subject. 

Mr. Parker hoped Congress would do all that 
lay in their power to restore to human nature its 
inherent privileges, and, if possible, wipe off the 
stigma under which America labored. The in- 
consistency in our principles with which we are 
justly charged should be done away, that we may 
show by our actions the pure beneficence of the 
doctrine we hold out to the world in our Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

Mr. Sherman thought the principles of the mo- 
tion, and the principles of the bill, were inconsist- 
ent ; the principle of the bill was to raise revenue, 
and the principle of the motion to correct a moral 
evil. Now, considering it is an object of revenue, 
it would be unjust, because two or three States 
would bear the whole burden, while he believed 
they bore their full proportion of all the rest. He 
was against receiving the motion into this bill, though 
he had no objection to taking it up by itself on 
the principles of humanity and policy ; and there- 
fore would vote against it if it was not withdrawn. 

On the 20th of April, Mr. Sherman wrote to 
Pierpont Edwards, of New Haven, giving him an 
account of the arrival of the Vice-President, &c. : — 

New York, April 20th, 1789. 

Sir, — The Vice President of the United States 
arrived this aflernoon about 4 o'clock escorted by 
the cavalry of this city, and attended by a number 
of gentlemen of distinction, in their coaches, char- 
iots and other carriages. 



202 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

The President is expected the latter end of this 
week or the beginning of next when our Federal 
Government will be completely organized. A bill 
for laying and collecting a general impost, and sev- 
eral other bills are preparing in the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; but it is probable that much impost will 
be lost on this spring's importations by the delay 
of the members to meet on the day appointed. 

On the 14th of May, Mr. Sherman wrote the 
following letter to Oliver Wolcott : — 

New York, May 14, 1789. 

Sir, — As the proceedings of Congress are daily 
published in the papers in this city, and from them 
in the papers of the other States, I cannot give 
your honor any new information respecting them. 
Much time was lost by the non-attendance of mem- 
bers at the beginning of the session, so that season- 
able provision could not be made by an impost 
law to embrace the spring importations. 

The House of Representatives entered upon that 
subject immediately after they formed, and have 
agreed upon the rates of the impost on the various 
articles, in doing which they had respect to rev- 
enue, and the encouraging the manufactures of 
these States. Much time was necessarily taken 
up in adjusting those rates to suit the circum- 
stances of the different parts of the Union. A 
spirit of harmony and accommodation has been 
manifested, and the business has been done to 
general satisfaction, except as to the duty on 
molasses which at first was fixed at 6 cents per 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 203 

gallon, which gave great dissatisfaction to the 
members from Massachusetts and occasioned much 
debate, till at length it was altered to 5 cents. It 
was the general sense of the House that were it not 
for the distillation of that article into rum it ought 
to be lower, but as a considerable branch of the 
revenue was to be derived from distilled spirits 
it. was urged, that if molasses was not rated in a 
greater proportion to imported rum than some 
other articles, it would tend to diminish the rev- 
enue on that branch by increasing the manufacture 
of it in the country, and so lessening the impor- 
tation; and that it would operate unequally on 
the different parts of the Union, as in those parts 
where the distillery is not carried on the people 
would pay a higher tax on the spirits which they 
consume than the citizens of the other States. 

All classes of citizens here appear to be well 
pleased with the new Government, and especially 
with the President's address. 

There has been a joint committee to consider 
what style shall be annexed to the offices of Presi- 
dent and Vice President, who reported that it is 
not proper to annex any style or title other than 
the style of office in the Constitution, which was 
unanimously approved by the House and dissented 
to by a majority of the Senate — on which a com- 
mittee of conference was appointed, and the com- 
mittee from the Senate agreed to report that the 
address of the Senate should be made to the Presi- 
dent, only by the style of office. 

The House have this day agreed to engross the 
bill for laying duties on goods imported, which is 



204 ^^^ ^^^^ OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

to be read a third time to-morrow — having pre- 
viously agreed to a deduction of lO per cent of the 
duties on goods imported in vessels built in the 
United States and belonging to citizens thereof. 

The freedom of the City of New Haven was 
conferred on John Adams as he passed through 
the city in April, 1789, on his way to the inaugura- 
tion of President Washington. The following cor- 
respondence shows his appreciation of the honor, 
and his personal esteem for Mr. Sherman: — 

Pierpont Edwards to John Adams. 

New Haven, April 27th, 1789. 

Sir, — The absence of the Honorable Roger 
Sherman our Mayor necessitated the measure of 
presenting you the freedom of this city authenti- 
cated by our Senior Aldermen. Having had an 
opportunity to communicate with Mr. Sherman, I 
now do myself the honor to enclose you a Diploma 
authenticated according to the usages of this city, 
under the signature of our Mayor, City Clerk, and 
the Seal of the City. 

The honor of expressing the very great respect 
with which they regard your character, and the 
sincere affection which they have for your Person, 
actuated them to enroll your name in the Registry 
of their Citizens. They hope that this step may 
meet with your approbation. I have the honor 
to be, with very great respect, your excellency's 
most obedient, and very humble 

Ser. 

Pierpont Edwards, 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 205 

John Adams to Roger Sherman. 

New York, May 14, 1789. 

My dear Friend : — Inclosed is a letter of 
thanks to our fellow citizens of New Haven and to 
Mr Edwards, for the most endearing compliment 
I ever received. I supposemyself chiefly indebted 
to your friendship for the favorable representation 
of my character among your neighbors which has 
produced this obliging result. I hope it will not 
be long before we shall have an opportunity to re- 
new our former acquaintance and intimacy : in the 
meantime let me pray your acceptance of my 
sincere thanks for the Diploma under your Mayor- 
alty and Signature; and that you will take the 
trouble of transmitting the enclosed letter, which 
I leave open for your perusal, to Mr Edwards. 

With the most cordial affection and the highest 
esteem, I have the honor to be, dear sir, your most 
obedient and most humble servant, 

John Adams. 

The following letter, from Governor Lyman 
Hall, of Georgia, to Roger Sherman, shows the 
anxiety felt by some as to the success of the new 
government. 

Georgia, loth June, 1789. 

Dear Sir, — I have advised my son, who will 
hand you this, to wait on you, with my respectful 
compliments and to pay particular attention to 
such hints and advice as he may receive from you 
for the guide of his conduct, upon a plan of im* 



206 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

provement, during his stay in N. York, which if 
his health will permit, may be for some consider- 
able time. 

I know your benevolent heart, and I can rely 
with confidence, that in this instance, I shall ex- 
perience your friendship. My son will tell you all 
the news from this part of the world. 

I am heartily glad that Congress are on busi- 
ness, but give me leave to say, you ought to lay a 
scheme to bring in N. Carolina and Rhode Island, 
as soon as may be, either by Convention, (which 
will give them opportunity to come in with a de- 
cent face, which I believe is in part all they wish) 
or, perhaps some other mode may succeed equally 
well, at all events they must be brought in — Con- 
sequences otherways, I could not hint, but your 
own mind must suggest, alarming and dangerous, 
at least to the tranquillity, if not to the existence 
of the Union. — Revolt of other States has been 
hinted — Hush — 

I am sorry that the whole Congress (a bad ex- 
ample) cannot agree to pray together — you un- 
derstand me — 

I am. Dear Sir, respectfully your most obedient 
& humble servant, 

L. Hall. 



Part II. — Amendments to the Constitution. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, 
the conventions of five States recommended 
amendments, as also did a minority in the conven- 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 20/ 

tions of two other States. The feeling in Virginia 
was so strong on this point, that Mr. Madison felt 
bound to introduce in the House a series of amend- 
ments which he had prepared. Accordingly, on 
June 8th, Mr. Madison stated that he proposed 
to bring forward certain amendments to the 
Constitution. 

Mr. Sherman : " I am willing that this matter 
should be brought before the House at a proper 
time. I suppose a number of gentlemen think it 
their duty to bring it forward ; so that there is no 
apprehension it will be passed over in silence. 
Other gentlemen may be disposed to let the sub- 
ject rest until the more important objects of 
government are attended to; and I should con- 
clude, from the nature of the case, that the people 
expect the latter from us in preference to altering 
the Constitution ; because they have ratified that 
instrument in order that the government may begin 
to operate. If this was not their wish, they might 
as well have rejected the Constitution, as North 
Carolina has done, until the amendments took 
place. The State I have the honor to come from 
adopted this system by a very great majority ; be- 
cause they wished for the government; but they 
desired no amendments. I suppose this was the 
case in other States ; it will therefore be imprudent 
to neglect much more important concerns for this. 
The executive part of the government wants or- 
ganization ; the business of the revenue is incom- 
plete, to say nothing of the judiciary business. 
Now, will gentlemen give up these points to go into 
a discussion of amendments, when no advantage 



208 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

can arise from them ? For my part, I question if 
any alteration which can be now proposed would 
be an amendment in the true sense of the word, 
but, nevertheless, I am willing to let the subject be 
introduced. If the gentleman only desires to go 
into committee for the purpose of receiving his 
proposition, I shall consent ; but I have strong ob- 
jections to being interrupted in completing the 
more important business; because I am well 
satisfied it will alarm the fears of twenty of our 
constituents where it will please one." 

Mr. Madison then moved that a select committee 
be appointed to consider and report such amend- 
ments, as are proper for Congress to propose to 
the legislatures of the several States, conformably to 
the fifth article of the Constitution. He stated what 
amendments he thought should be made, support- 
ing them by an elaborate speech. 

Mr. Sherman : " I do not suppose the Constitu- 
tion to be perfect, nor do I imagine if Congress and 
all the legislatures on the continent were to revise it 
that their united labors would make it perfect. I 
do not expect any perfection on this side of the 
grave in the works of man; but my opinion is, 
that we are not at present in circumstances to 
make it better. It is a wonder that there has been 
such unanimity in adopting it, considering the 
ordeal it had to undergo ; and the unanimity which 
prevailed at its formation is equally astonishing; 
amidst all the members from the twelve States pres- 
ent at the federal convention, there were only three 
who did not sign the instrument to attest their 
opinion of its goodness. Of the eleven States who 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 209 

have received it, the majority have ratified it with- 
out proposing a single amendment. This circum- 
stance leads me to suppose that we shall not be 
able to propose any alterations that are likely to 
be adopted by nine States ; and gentlemen know, 
before the alterations take effect, they must be 
agreed to by the legislatures of three-fourths of 
the States in the Union. Those States which have 
not recommended alterations will hardly adopt 
them, unless it is clear that they tend to make the 
Constitution better. Now, how this can be made 
out to their satisfaction I am yet to learn; they 
know of no defect from experience." 

August 13. The first article of the amendments 
proposed ran thus : — "In the introductory para- 
graph of the Constitution, before the words * We 
the people,' add * Government being intended for 
the benefit of the people,' and the rightful estab- 
lishment thereof being derived from their authority 
alone." 

Mr. Sherman : " I believe, Mr. Chairman, this is 
not the proper mode of amending the Constitution. 
We ought not to interweave our propositions into 
the work itself, because it will be destructive of the 
whole fabric. We might as well endeavor to mix 
brass, iron and clay, as to incorporate such hetero- 
geneous articles, the one contradictory to the 
other. Its absurdity will be discovered by com- 
paring it with a law. Would any legislature en- 
deavor to introduce into a former act a subsequent 
amendment, and let them stand so connected? 
When an alteration is made in an act, it is 
done by way of supplement : the latter act always 

14 



2IO THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

repealing the former in every specified case of 
difference. 

** Besides this, sir, it is questionable whether we 
have the right to propose amendments in this way. 
The Constitution is the act of the people, and 
ought to remain entire. But the amendments will 
be the act of the State governments. Again, all 
the authority we possess is derived from that in- 
strument; if we mean to destroy the whole, and 
establish a new Constitution, we remove the basis 
on which we mean to build. For these reasons, I 
will move to strike out that paragraph and substi- 
tute another." 

The paragraph proposed was to the following 
effect : 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Represen- 
tatives of the United States in Congress assembled, 
That the following articles be proposed as amend- 
ments to the Constitution, and when ratified by 
three-fourths of the State legislatures shall become 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the 
same. 

Under this title the amendments might come in 
nearly as stated in the report, only varying the 
phraseology so as to accommodate them to a sup- 
plementary form. 

Mr. Gerry said that this was a dispute about 
form. 

Mr. Sherman : " If I had looked upon this ques- 
tion as mere matter of form, I should not have 
brought it forward or troubled the committee with 
such a lengthy discussion. But, sir, I contend that 
amendments made in the way proposed by the 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 211 

committee are void. No gentleman ever knew an 
addition and alteration introduced into an existing 
law, and that any part of such law was left in force ; 
but if it was improved or altered by a supplemental 
act, the original retained all its validity and impor- 
tance in every case where the two were not incom- 
patible. But if these observations alone should 
be thought insufficient to support my motion, I 
would desire, gentlemen, to consider the authorities 
upon which the two Constitutions are to stand. 
The original was established by the people at large, 
by conventions chosen by them for the express 
purpose. The preamble to the Constitution de- 
clares the act : but will it be a truth in ratifying the 
next Constitution which is to be done perhaps by 
the State legislatures, and not conventions chosen 
for the purpose? Will gentlemen say it is 'We 
the people' in this case? Certainly they cannot; 
for, by the present Constitution we, nor all the 
legislatures in the union together, do not possess 
the power of repealing it. All that is granted us 
by the fifth article is, that whenever we shall think 
it necessary, we may propose amendments to the 
Constitution, — not that we may propose to repeal 
the old, and substitute a new one. 

" Gentlemen say, it would be convenient to have 
it in one instrument, that people might see the 
whole at once ; for my part, I view no difficulty on 
this point. The amendments reported are a de- 
claration of rights ; the people are secure in them, 
whether we declare them or not ; the last amend- 
ment but one provides that the three branches of 
government shall each exercise its own rights. 



212 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

This IS well secured already ; and in short I do 
not see that they lessen the force of any article in 
the Constitution: If so there can be little more 
difficulty in comprehending them whether they are 
combined in one or stand distinct instruments." 

Mr. Sherman's motion did not prevail. On 
August 2 1st, he renewed his motion, and it pre- 
vailed by a two-thirds vote. 

August 14th, the second amendment was under 
consideration, which provided that there should be 
one representative for every thirty thousand until 
the number shall amount to one hundred; after 
which the proportion shall be so regulated by 
Congress that the number of representatives shall 
never be less than one hundred, nor more than one 
hundred and seventy-five; but each State shall 
always have at least one representative. 

Mr. Sedgwick moved to strike out one hundred 
and seventy-five and insert two hundred. 

Mr. Sherman said, if they were now forming a 
Constitution he should be in favor of one represen- 
tative for forty thousand rather than thirty 
thousand. 

The objects of the Federal Government were 
fewer than those of the State Government; they 
did not require an equal degree of local knowledge ; 
the one case, perhaps, where local knowledge 
would be advantageous, was in laying direct taxes ; 
but here they were freed from an embarrassment, 
because the arrangements of the several States 
might serve as a pretty good rule on which to 
found their measures. 

So far was he from thinking one hundred and 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 213 

seventy-five insufficient, that he was about to move 
for a reduction, because he always considered that 
a small body deliberated to better purpose than a 
greater one. 

Later, Mr. Sherman said, — He was against any 
increase. He thought if a future House should be 
convinced of the impropriety of increasing this 
number to above one hundred, they ought to have 
it at their discretion to prevent it ; and if that was 
likely to be the case, it was an argument why the 
present House should not decide. He did not con- 
sider that all that had been said with respect to the 
advantages of a large representation was founded 
upon experience; it had been intimated, that a 
large body was more incorruptible than a smaller 
one; this doctrine was not authenticated by any 
proof; he could invalidate it by an example notori- 
ous to every gentleman in this House ; he alluded 
to the British House of Commons, in which, al- 
though it consisted of upwards of five hundred 
members, the minister always contrived to procure 
votes enough to answer his purpose. 

The proposition as amended by Mr. Sedgwick 
was carried by a vote of twenty-seven to twenty-two. 

August 15. The fourth proposed amendment 
was that "No religion should be established by 
law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be 
infringed." 

Mr. Sherman thought the amendment altogether 
unnecessary, inasmuch as Congress had no author- 
ity whatever delegated to them by the Constitution 
to make religious establishments; and moved 
therefore to have it struck out. 



214 '^HB LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Mr. Liver more proposed that the amendment 
should be made to read, " shall make no laws 
touching religion, or infringing the rights of con- 
science," which passed by a vote of thirty-one to 
twenty. 

On a proposition authorizing the people to in- 
struct " their representatives," Mr. Sherman said, 
" It appears to me that the words are calculated to 
mislead the people, by conveying an idea that they 
have a right to control the debates of the legisla- 
ture. This cannot be admitted to be just, because 
it would destroy the object of their meeting. I 
think, when the people have chosen a representa- 
tive, it is his duty to meet others from the differ- 
ent parts of the union, and consult, and agree with 
them to such acts as are for the general benefit of 
the whole community. If they were to be guided 
by instructions, there would be no use in delibera- 
tion ; all that a man would have to do, would be 
to produce his instructions, and lay them on the 
table, and let them speak for him. From hence, I 
think it may be fairly inferred, that the right of the 
people to consult for the common good can go no 
further than to petition the legislature, or apply 
for a redress of grievances. It is the duty of a 
good representative to inquire what measures are 
most likely to promote the general welfare, and, after 
he has discovered them, to give them his support. 
Should his instructions, therefore, coincide with 
his ideas on any measure, they would be unneces- 
sary ; if they were contrary to the conviction of 
his own mind, he must be bound by every princi- 
ple of justice to disregard them." 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 21$ 

The proposition was negatived by a vote of ten 
yeas to forty-one nays. 

August 1 8. The ninth proposed amendment 
was, " The powers not delegated by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it, to the States, are re- 
served to the States respectively." 

Mr. Tucker moved to amend this proposition by 
adding the word " expressly," so as to read " the 
powers not expressly delegated by this Consti- 
tution." 

Mr. Madison objected to this amendment, be- 
cause it was impossible to confine a government to 
the exercise of express powers ; they must neces- 
sarily be admitted powers by implication, unless 
the Constitution descended to recount every minu- 
tia. He remembered the words " expressly " had 
been moved in the convention of Virginia, by the 
opponents to the ratification, and, after full and 
fair discussion, was given up by them, and the sys- 
tem allowed to retain its present form. 

Mr. Sherman coincided with Mr. Madison in 
opinion, observing that corporate bodies are sup- 
posed to possess all powers incident to a corporate 
capacity, without being absolutely expressed. 

Mr. Tucker's motion was negatived. 

August 21. The House having taken into con- 
sideration the amendments to the Constitution, as 
reported by the Committee of the Whole, Mr. 
Sherman renewed his motion for adding the 
amendments to the Constitution by way of supple- 
ment ; which was agreed to by two thirds of the 
House. 

The first proposed amendment was rejected, be- 



2l6 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

cause two thirds of the members present did not 
support it 

Mr. Sherman moved to alter the clause in refer- 
ence to the delegation of powers by adding to it 
the words, "or to the people ; " so that it would 
read " the powers not delegated to the United 
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to 
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, 
or to the people." 

This motion was adopted without debate. . 

Mr. Burke proposed as an amendment that 
" Congress shall not alter, modify, or interfere in 
the times, places, or manner of holding elections 
of senators, or representatives, except when any 
State shall refuse or neglect or be unable, by inva- 
sion or rebellion, to make such election." 

Mr. Sedgwick moved to amend the motion by 
giving the power to Congress to alter the times, 
manner, and places of holding elections, provided 
the States made improper ones. 

Mr. Sherman observed, that the convention 
were very unanimous in passing this clause ; that 
it was an important provision, and if it was re- 
signed it would tend to subvert the government. 

The motions of Mr. Burke and Mr. Sedgwick 
were determined in the negative. 

Two thirds of the House finally agreed to seven- 
teen amendments. The Senate reduced the num- 
ber to twelve. Only ten of these, which were in 
the nature of a bill of rights, were ratified by the 
legislatures of three fourths of the States, and so 
became a part of the Constitution. Mr. Livermore 
doubtless expressed a very prevalent opinion when 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 21/ 

he pronounced these ten amendments " of no more 
value than a pinch of snuff, since they went to 
secure rights never in danger." 

June 25. The following clause in a bill for es- 
tablishing the Treasury Department was under 
consideration, viz. : Making it the duty of the Sec- 
retary to digest and report plans for the improve- 
ment and management of the revenue and the 
support of the public credit. 

Mr. Sherman thought the principle held up by 
the clause was absolutely necessary to be received. 
It was of such a nature as to force itself upon 
them ; therefore it was in vain to attempt to elude 
it by subterfuge. It was owing to the great abil- 
ities of a financier, that France had been able to 
make the exertions we were witnesses of a few 
years ago, without embarrassing the nation. This 
able man, after considerably improving the na- 
tional revenue, was displaced; but such was the 
importance of the officer, that he has been restored 
again. ... It is the proper business of this House 
to originate revenue laws : but as we want inform- 
ation to act upon, we must procure it where it is 
to be had ; consequently we must get it out of this 
officer, and the best way of doing so must be by 
making it his duty to bring it forward. 

September 25. Mr. Boudinot moved that the 
President be requested to appoint a day of Thanks- 
giving for the many signal favors of Almighty God, 
especially by affording them an opportunity peace- 
ably to establish a constitution of government for 
their safety and happiness. 

Mr. Sherman justified the practice of thanks- 



2l8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

giving on any signal event, not only as a laudable 
one in itself, but as warranted by a number of 
precedents in Holy Writ : for instance, the solemn 
thanksgivings and rejoicings which took place in 
the time of Solomon, after the building of the tem- 
ple, was a case in point. This example he thought 
worthy of Christian imitation on the present 
occasion ; and he would agree with the gentleman 
who moved the resolution. 

The motion was opposed by Burke, who did not 
like this mimicking European customs. Tucker 
intimated that it would be as well to wait for some 
experience of the effects of the Constitution before 
returning thanks for it. He thought the question 
of a thanksgiving ought to be left to the State au- 
thorities, as they would know best what reason the 
people had to be pleased with the new govern- 
ment. 

The resolution was carried ; and Messrs. Boudi- 
not, Sherman, and Sylvester were appointed a 
committee on the part of the House. In com- 
pliance with this resolution, in which the Senate 
concurred, the President appointed Thursday, 
November 26th, 1789, as our first national Thanks- 
giving day. 

The first session of the first Congress came to 
an end September 29th, 1789. A few days before 
the adjournment, Mr. Sherman wrote to Gov. 
Huntington the following letter, giving him an 
account of the work done during the last four 
months of the Congress. 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 219 

Nbw York, Sept. 17th, 1789. 

Sir; Your excellency has doubtless seen the 
amendments proposed to be made to the Consti- 
tution as passed by the House of Representatives, 
Enclosed is a copy of them as amended by the 
Senate wherein they are considerably abridged and 
I think altered for the better. 

The present session draws near to a close, the 
22d inst. being the time fixed by both Houses for 
adjournment. Some bills for laws and other busi- 
ness' begun will be continued to next session; but 
the arrangements that will be completed will en- 
able the Executive to administer the Government 
in the recess of Congress. It was impossible to 
make any special appropriation for paying the 
interest of the public debt without further informa- 
tion than can be obtained at present. The Secre- 
tary of the Treasury will be directed to make 
proper statements and report to the next session. 

The salaries of some of the officers are higher 
than I thought was necessary or proper consider- 
ing the state of the finances and the just and meri- 
torious demands of the creditors who have long 
been kept out of their dues, especially such of 
them as originally loaned their money, or ren- 
dered services or specific supplies, and still hold 
their securities. I don't know whether any dis- 
crimination will or ought to be made between them 
and others, but if there should I think it ought not 
to be made for the benefit of the public, but of the 
original creditors who were necessitated to sell 
their securities at a discount. I was absent when 



220 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

the bill for fixing the compensation of the mem- 
bers and officers of Congress was brought in and 
passed the House. The Senate concurred with an 
alteration that in the year 1795 the pay of a Sena- 
tor should be augmented one dollar a day, on this 
principle that a Senator ought to have higher pay 
than a Representative, though they were willing to 
dispense with it during their continuance in office, 
a great majority of the House of Representatives 
thought the principle not admissible, but on con- 
ference rather than lose the bill it was agreed by 
way of accommodation to limit the continuance of 
the law to seven years, so that the extra pay of a 
Senator will continue but one year. 

The pay is fixed at one dollar a day more than 
was last stated by the legislature of the State of 
Connecticut which is perhaps as economical a 
State as any in the Union, and I suppose the 
members from that State would have been content 
with that allowance, if they had to provide only for 
themselves, but the members from those States 
who had formerly allowed eight dollars a day 
thought it hard to be reduced to six, but mutual 
concession was necessary. It is important that a 
full representation be kept up, and it is well known 
that in Connecticut as well as in other States, it 
was difficult out of seven members to keep up a 
representation by two, and some could not be in- 
duced to attend at all. 

The judiciary bill which had passed the Senate 
was this day concurred with by the House of Rep- 
resentatives with some small alterations. The sala- 
ries of the Judges have been this day reported but 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 221 

not considered by the House. The enclosed 
papers contain the news of the day. I have the 
honor to be with great respect, your excellency's 
most obedient humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

In the previous month of June, Mr. Sherman's 
son William had died. The following letter on 
this subject was written to him by his daughter 
Elizabeth. 

New Haven, June 29, 1789. 

HOND. Sir; It is an hour of trying affliction 
with us. We all need your advice and counsel in 
this affecting moment. Mama has been graciously 
supported beyond our expectation. Thus we have 
reason to praise God in the midst of this most 
severe chastisement. It is by her desire that I 
write to inform you the particulars of the death 
and interment of my deceased brother. He ap- 
peared to have his senses and was able to speak 
until about six hours before his death. 

Doctor Stiles, Doctor Wales and Mr. Austin all 
visited and conversed with him concerning the 
state of his mind. He expressed penitence for 
sins and his belief of a necessity of the atonement 
by Christ and seemed sincerely to desire to be en- 
abled by the grace of God to repent of all his sins 
and accept of salvation upon the terms offered in 
the Gospel, and the last words he was heard to 
utter appeared to be an earnest prayer to his 
Creator for the salvation of his soul and at 3 o'clock 
on Saturday he was buried. His daughter Betsy 
attended as a mourner at the funeral. Mama got 



222 THE LIFE OF ROGER SffERMA//. 

for her and for the rest of us hats, gloves, buckles, 
handkerchiefs and everything necessary for mourn- 
ing except gowns. Those we borrowed. They 
were black silk. Now Mama wishes to know what 
you think proper to get for the family and whether 
you do not think best to get for them and for his 
Betsy suits of black silk and she also wishes if pos- 
sible to have you come home even if you cannot 
stay but two days. Roger and Oliver have dark 
coats and other dress that is very decent. John 
and Isaac have no dark coats. They have black 
underdresses, stockings, gloves and all else that is 
necessary and Mama wants to know if they had 
not best have some dark coats. Roger has been 
to Mr Tomlinsons and took some patterns of the 
lute strings which I have enclosed. They are half 
yard wide. The large piece is 1 1/8 per ell. The 
other 9/6 per ell York currency, and he will make 
his usual deduction from the above prices. At the 
same place is some English taffety for 7 pounds 
per piece Y. C. and marked price. 

from yours affectionately, 

Eliza Sherman. 

N. B. We cannot find any broad cloths here. 
If you think best to get any I suppose you can get 
enough in New York. 

Mama is happy to inform you that Isaac has 
been a great comfort to her and all the family in 
our present distress. 

The following is a letter from Mr. Sherman to 
Simeon Baldwin on the same subject 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 223 

New York, June 29th, 1789. 

Sir, — I received your letter of the 24th on the 
evening of the 25 th and that of the 26th on the 
evening of the 28th — I am greatly obliged to you 
for the attention you gave to my son William in 
his sickness, and the early and circumstantial ac- 
count given me respecting him in your letters. I 
had thought of returning home on receipt of your 
first letter but had no opportunity by land or water 
until it was too late to see him alive or to attend 
his funeral. The first account I had of his death 
was by a letter from my son Isaac last Saturday 
evening. I wish this sudden and sorrowful event 
may be sanctified to all the family — that we may 
always be prepared for so great and important a 
change, by choosing the good part that can never 
be taken away from us. 

These with my love to you and Mrs. Baldwin, 
from your affectionate Parent, 

Roger Sherman. 

The following letter to Simeon Baldwin gives an 
account of the method of applying for office, at 
that early day. 

New York, July 21st, 1789. 

Dear Sir, — Enclosed is last Saturday's paper. 
The Collecting Bill passed the House and was sent 
to the Senate last Friday — the Judiciary Bill 
passed the Senate the same day — and has been 
once read in the House — Two persons have ap- 
plied for the office of Surveyor in New Haven, Mr 



224 '^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ROGER SHERMAN, 

Phips who was a Lieutenant under Capt. Harding 
in the Navy of the United States — and Capt. 
William Munson, who I suppose have applied to 
the President in common form, which is by letter 
mentioning the office to which they wish to be ap- 
pointed, and their past services and sufferings as a 
ground of claim — and if the President is not per- 
sonally acquainted with their character, their letter 
is accompanied with a certificate from persons of 
distinction, certifying their qualifications, and they 
sometimes in their letters refer the President to 
members' of Congress, or other persons residing at 
the Seat of Government for information. The dis- 
trict Court and the circuit Court will have two Ses- 
sions in a year in Connecticut to be held at Hart- 
ford and New Haven alternately and may hold 
special Court at other places. I am in health and 
hope to come home as soon as the Judiciary Bill 
passes. 

Yours respectfully, 

Roger Sherman. 

The following letter to his wife shows that the 
cares of State did not make Mr. Sherman unmind- 
ful of domestic economy. 

New York, July 23, 1789. 

Dear Wife, — I received Roger's letter of the 
20th inst wherein he mentions that you had a poor 
turn that day but was so far recovered as to ride 
out If your state of health makes it necessary, I 
will return home immediately, otherwise I shall 
stay a little longer. The bill establishing courts 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 225 

passed by the Senate is now before the House, and 
I am on a committee for considering amendments 
to the Constitution. The bill for fixing the pay of 
the members is depending and undetermined — I 
wish you to write me by the first post. 

I received my clothes in the green box — The 
new jacket fits well. Coppers have taken a sud- 
den fall here to 48 for a shilling York money, if we 
have any on hand I think it best to keep them for 
the present. I believe it would answer to take in 
good flax well dressed for spinning at a reasonable 
price — the crop won't be so good this year as 
last. 

Yours, &c., 

Roger Sherman. 

I had a letter from Mr Gibbs dated the 19th he 
says that sister and all friends are well — They 
lately made an excursion into the country and 
found our friends at Concord well. 

R. S. 

On Mr. Sherman's return home, he wrote the 
following letter to Richard Law, who had been his 
associate on the bench, and in revising the laws of 
Connecticut. 

New Haven, Oct. 3, 1789. 

Dear Sir; — Congress closed the session last 
Tuesday, having made such arrangements as will 
enable the Executive to administer the Govern- 
ment. They could not obtain sufficient informa- 
tion to make any appropriations for the interest of 

the public debts, but have directed the Secretary 

16 



226 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

of the Treasury to report the necessary statements 
for that purpose, to the next session. 

The Judiciary Act passed with but little altera- 
tion from the original draft, I suppose you will 
be furnished with a copy of it. You are appointed 
District Judge for Connecticut. The salary is some- 
thing more than you now receive from the State 
and can't be diminished. 

Your honor will have the appointment of. a 
Clerk who must reside at Hartford or New Haven. 
Simeon Baldwin, Esq., of this city, with whom you 
are well acquainted, would execute the office well, 
and I believe, to good acceptance, if he should be 
appointed. If your honor shall think fit to con- 
fer that office on him the favor will be gratefully 
acknowledged by him, and 

Your sincere friend and humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

The Diary of George Washington, from 1789 to 
1 79 1 gives the following account of his visit to New 
Haven in October, 1789. 

Saturday, Oct. 17, 1789. 

From Milford we took the lower road through 
West Haven, part of which was good and part 
rough, and arrived at New Haven before two 
o'clock; we had time to walk through several 
parts of the city before dinner. By taking the 
lower road we missed a committee of the Assem- 
bly, who had been appointed to wait upon and 
escort me into town — to prepare an address — 
and to conduct me when I should leave the city as 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 22/ 

far as they should judge proper. The address was 
presented at 7 o'clock, and at 9, I received another 
address from the Congregational clergy of the 
place. Between the receipt of the two addresses 
I received the compliment of a visit from the Gov. 
Mr Huntington — the Lt. Gov. Mr Wolcott — 
and the Mayor, Mr Roger Sherman. 

Sunday, 18th. 

Went in the forenoon to the Episcopal Church, 
and in the afternoon to one of the Congrega- 
tional meeting houses. Attended to the first by 
the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Edwards, 
and a Mr IngersoU, and to the latter by the 
Governor, the Lieut. Governor, the Mayor, and 
Speaker. 

These gentlemen all dined with me, (by invita- 
tion,) as did Gov. Huntington, at the house of Mr 
Brown, where I lodged, and who keeps a good 
tavern. Drank tea at the Mayor's, Mr Sherman. 

It was on this occasion that Mr. Sherman's 
daughter Mehetabel opened the door for the Presi- 
dent, as he was leaving. Washington, putting his 
hand on her head, remarked, — "You deserve a 
better office, my little lady." "Yes, sir," she re- 
plied with a curtsey, " to let you in." This young 
lady afterwards became Mrs. Evarts. Her son, the 
Hon. William M. Evarts told me he had often 
heard his mother repeat this story. 



228 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Part III. — Public Credit. 

Second Session. Jan. 4, 1790 — Aug. 12, 1790. 

The second session of Congress met on the 4th 
of January, 1790. On the 14th of January the 
Secretary of the Treasury submitted a plan for the 
support of the public credit, which was made the 
order of the day for January 28th. In the mean 
time, on January 20th, the motion to direct the 
Secretary of the Treasury to report some regula- 
tion for the distribution of western lands being 
under consideration, Mr. Sherman said, that he 
thought the best way to manage this business was 
to refer it to the Secretary of the Treasury as was 
proposed. He said that the unappropriated land 
in the western territory was the great fund of 
wealth which, if properly disposed of, might ex- 
tinguish the national debt, and be peopled by a 
valuable class of citizens ; but if, from a mistaken 
policy, it was thrown away upon foreign adven- 
turers or speculators, the public would get nothing 
for it as had been the case heretofore, in the sale 
of large districts, where the expenses attending the 
surveys &c., left very little profit to the United 
States. It is true, such measures may induce a • 
number of foreigners to come among us ; but then 
it ought to be remembered that such are generally 
persons of different education, manners, and cus- 
toms from the citizens of the Union, and not so 
likely to harmonize in a republican government as 
might be wished; consequently any considerable 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 229 

accession of this class of settlers might tend to dis- 
turb the harmony and tranquillity and embarrass 
the operations of the government. He thought it 
was worthy of inquiry whether America stood in 
need of emigrants to people her territory. He 
supposed the notorious rapid population of the 
present inhabitants was of itself sufficient for the 
purpose. It must have struck the observation of 
every gentleman that they were daily throwing off 
vast numbers, and extending the settlements into 
that country which some gentlemen seemed to 
think could not be too early cultivated. But, 
nevertheless, he was willing to let foreigners come 
in gradually, and in the same way he was inclined 
to dispose of the lands. He thought it would be 
most judicious to lay off a district at a time, re- 
serving some lots, which, with the increasing popu- 
lation of the surrounding ones, would increase in 
value, and ultimately these reserved lots would bring 
more into the Treasury than the others. He wished 
the business to go to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
because he supposed he had the most information 
respecting it. 

January 28. The report of the Secretary of 
the Treasury on the means of supporting public 
credit was under consideration. It proposed two 
things. First, that all idea of discrimination 
among the public creditors, as original holders 
or transferees, ought to be done away; second, 
the assumption of the State debts by the general 
government. 

Mr. Sherman hoped the business would be con- 
ducted in such a way as to be concluded before 



230 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

the end of the present session. As to obtaining 
the sense of the State legislatures, he did not think 
that necessary. The people appointed the mem- 
bers of this House, and their situation enabled 
them to consult and judge better what was for the 
public good, than a number of distinct parts, void 
of relative information, and under the influence of 
local views. He supposed that Congress contained 
all the information necessary to determine this or 
any other national question. As to the first obser- 
vation of the gentleman from Georgia, that specu- 
lations had been carried on to a great extent, he 
had only to observe, that this had been the case 
from the time when the public securities were first 
issued, and he supposed they would continue until 
the holders were satisfied with what was done to 
secure the payment. 

As to the State debts, it was a subject which he 
apprehended would not be ultimately decided 
till the sense of the people is generally known ; 
and on this occasion, it might be well to be ac- 
quainted with the sense of the State legislatures ; 
he hoped, therefore, that it would be. But with 
regard to the foreign and domestic continental 
debts, he did not hesitate to say, it was proper for 
Congress to take them into consideration as 
speedily as possible ; for the sooner they are dis- 
cussed, the sooner will the House make up their 
judgment thereon. He believed they were pos- 
sessed of all the facts they could be possessed of, 
and therefore any great delay was improper. 

February 9. Mr. Sherman : " I think whatever 
doubts there may be with respect to the advan- 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 23 1 

tage or disadvantage of a public debt, we can none 
of us hesitate to decide that provision of some kind 
ought to be made for what we have already in- 
curred. It is true, if we were about now to borrow 
money, it would be highly prudent to consider 
whether the anticipation would not be repaid by a 
speedy collection of taxes or duties to the amount ; 
but when a debt is incurred beyond our present 
ability to discharge, we ought to make some pro- 
vision for its gradual extinction, and, in the inte- 
rim, pay punctually the interest ; now this resolution 
goes no further. 

" Some of the propositions which follow go further 
than this. They propose perpetual annuities, and 
talk of irredeemable stock. This is more than I 
am willing to agree to. I think it prudent for us 
to get out of debt as soon as we can ; but then I 
do not suppose we can raise money enough to pay 
off the whole principal and interest in two, three, 
or ten years. If I am right in this, we ought to 
agree to some mode of paying the interest in the 
interim." 

February 9. The report of the Secretary of the 
Treasury relating to the domestic debt being un- 
der consideration, Mr. Sherman said : " I do not 
differ much in principle from the gentleman who 
spoke last, from Pennsylvania, Mr. Scott, but I do 
not extend my views so far as he extends his, in 
the exercise of the power which he contends is 
vested in this body. I look upon it, that legisla- 
tors act in a threefold capacity; they have the 
power to make laws for the good government of 
the people, and a right to repeal and alter those 



232 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN", 

laws as public good requires ; in another capacity, 
they have a right to make contracts; but here I 
must contend, that they have no right to violate, 
alter, or abolish; but they are obliged to fulfil 
them. The legislature stands in another capac- 
ity, what is called judicial, between the Union at 
large and those creditors with whom she has en- 
tered into stipulations; there can be no other 
solemn judge on such occasions, because no court 
of law is capable of giving redress ; they cannot 
issue an execution against the sovereign power, 
and enforce their decrees ; therefore, any creditor 
who has money due him from the State has a 
right, by petition, to apply to the legislature, who 
has the sole power of doing him justice. When 
applied to in that manner, the legislature has a 
right to examine, or appoint another to examine, 
how far the claim is just or unjust ; this power has 
been exercised, with respect to the greatest part of 
the claims against the United States. There has 
been a liquidation of these accounts, and the specie 
value has been ascertained of the depreciated se- 
curity. When bills of credit were first emitted, it 
was declared that they should be redeemed with 
specie, indeed they passed as such at first; but 
the opinion of their real value was changed by 
common consent; those that were put into the 
continental loan offices were always payable in 
the same species of money. If they had been 
paid in paper currency, the owners of them would 
have suffered a loss and injury; in justice, there- 
fore, to the holders, the government agreed to fix 
the value of the loans according to the current 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 233 

rate of paper bills, at the time they were left in 
the office ; all certificates were ordered to be liqui- 
dated in this manner ; the same could not be done 
in favor of those who had left their other property 
with the public, and took the continental bills as 
a security; because they passed as a circulating 
medium, and went from one hand to another, by 
which means every one who received them, and 
kept them, though a small space of time, suffered 
loss; in that way it operated as a tax, and per- 
haps as equitable and as just a one as could have 
been any way apportioned ; therefore it could not 
have been supposed equitable, that the last posses- 
sor should receive for these bills the nominal sum 
in specie. The government, therefore, interfered 
in order to do justice ; but when they had entered 
into a contract, founded on specie value, liquidated 
and ascertained, I do not see but the public are 
bound by that contract, as much as an individual, 
and that they cannot reduce it down in either 
principal or interest, unless by an arbitrary power, 
and in that case there never will be any security 
in the public promises. If we should now agree 
to reduce the domestic debt to four per cent the 
world may justly fear that we may, on some future 
occasion, reduce it to two. If this government 
once establishes such a principle, our credit is 
inevitably gone forever. I presume the gentle- 
man does not found his motion upon the idea that 
there has been fraud and injustice committed on 
the one side, or imbecility or oversight on the 
other; if there was, it would be a good reason 
why an inquiry should take place in such cases. 



234 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ROGER SHERMAir. 

But though the legislature may judge of accounts 
exhibited against the government, and determine 
on them, their power ought not to be extended 
to judge of those already acknowledged ; unless it 
be for the special reasons which I have just men- 
tioned. From these considerations, I should be 
inclined to vary the motion for amendment, and 
insert the word liquidated before domestic debt, 
so as to provide permanent funds for the payment 
of interest on the liquidated part of the debt only." 

February 23, 1790. The assumption of the 
State debts being under consideration, Mr. Sher- 
man said if we can make provision for these debts 
it would be a desirable object to assume them. It 
will at the same time ease the State of a very great 
burden, and put all ranks of creditors upon the 
same footing, and this last will have the effect to 
prevent speculation ; inasmuch as there will be but 
one uniform object for men to trade in, there will 
be no difficult variety in the nature of stock. But 
at the same time, I think the debts to be assumed 
ought to consist of those only which were in- 
curred for the common or particular defence dur- 
ing the last war, and not those debts which the 
State may have incurred for the support of its 
government, the protection and encouragement of 
its manufactures, or for maintaining and opening 
highways, clearing the obstructions in the naviga- 
tion of rivers, or any other local purpose under- 
taken merely for the benefit of one or two States. 

Mr. Sherman said, in reply to certain objections 
by Mr. Stone : " It appears to me that the objec- 
tions of the gentleman from Maryland are not 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 235 

sufficient to prevent our adoption of this proposi- 
tion. His first objection is that it will give a 
greater degree of importance to the general gov- 
ernment, while it will lessen the consequence of 
the State governments. Now, I do not believe 
that it will have that effect. I consider both 
governments standing on the broad basis of the 
people. They were both constituted by them for 
their general and particular good. The Repre- 
sentatives in Congress draw their authority from 
the same source as the State legislatures; they 
are both of them elected by the people at large, 
the one to manage their national concerns, and the 
other their domestic, which they find can be bet- 
ter done by being divided into lesser communities 
than the whole Union ; but to effect the greater 
concerns they have confederated ; therefore every- 
thing which strengthens the Federal Government 
and enables it to answer the end for which it was 
instituted, will be a desirable object with the peo- 
ple. It is well known we can extend our authority 
no further than to the bounds the people have 
assigned. If we possess this power, doubtless the 
people will send others to correct our faults, or, 
if necessary, alter the system ; but we have every 
reason to believe the people will be pleased with it, 
and none suppose that the State governments will 
object. They are the supreme power within their 
own jurisdiction ; and they will have authority over 
the States in all cases not given to the general 
government, notwithstanding the assumption of 
the State debts. If it was a question between two 
different countries, and we were going to give the 



236 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

British Parliament power, by assuming our debts, 
of levying what taxes they thought proper, and 
the people of America were to have no voice in 
the appointment of the officers who were to ad- 
minister the affairs of the government, the experi- 
ment would be dangerous to the country ; but as 
the business is to be conducted by ourselves, there 
can be no ground for apprehension. The people 
of the United States are like masters prescribing 
to their servants the several branches of business 
they will each have to perform. It might not 
comport with their interests if the Federal Gov- 
ernment was to interfere with the government of 
particular States; while on the other hand, it 
would injure their interests to restrict the general 
government from performing what the Federal 
Constitution allows them. It is the interest of 
each and of the whole that they should be sepa- 
rate within their proper limits. 

"Another objection is that we are to pay the 
whole by imposts, and that this mode will be un- 
equal. I apprehend that this is not well founded, 
because the consumers of the imported goods get 
the benefit of the use, and the consumption is in a 
great degree proportioned to the abilities of the 
citizens. The rich man, with his dependents, 
consumes more ; there is more waste too in such a 
family than in the economy and frugality of the 
poor. If this is a fact, the rich contribute revenue 
in a proportion, and of consequence the burden of 
the tax is borne generally and equally by those 
who derive benefit from the late Revolution. 

" Another objection is that we were not author- 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS 237 

ized by the Constitution to assume the State debts. 
By the confederation Congress were authorized to 
raise money ; but not being able to effect this in 
an immediate and direct manner, they did it medi- 
ately through the intervention of the State govern- 
ments; so that in fact these debts were to be 
looked upon as the absolute debts of the Union ; 
however, I should have no objection to qualify the 
mode of expressing our opinion in such way as to 
confine the assumption to those debts alone which 
were contracted by the States for the common de- 
fence. Those debts, as was observed by the gen- 
tleman from Pennsylvania, will ultimately be as- 
sumed, and it is as well to be charged with them 
in the first instance, especially as if doing so in the 
first instance will promote the general good. 

** Another objection is that the debts of the States 
are of different value. I take it, sir, that no debt 
will be assumed but what is liquidated and reduced 
to specie value, and although we differ in nominal 
accounts, a dollar is everywhere equal. As to the 
inequality of the market rate, it may have been oc- 
casioned by some States not having made equal 
provisions for their debts when compared to the 
provisions of other States ; but as the debts are all 
equally meritorious, an equality of provision ought 
to be made. That some creditors have hitherto 
suffered is no reason why they should continue to 
suffer; so I can see no weight in this objection. 
But he supposes that some creditors will prefer 
holding the State for their money rather than the 
United States; if it should be the case, it will 
make no difference on the final settlement, because 



238 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

the States will only be debited for that part of the 
debt which their creditors had subscribed into the 
general fund. But I can see no good reason for 
supposing that the creditors of the States will re- 
fuse to subscribe. They have an election, it is true, 
but the terms must appear to them so advantage- 
ous, considering all things, as to induce them to 
accept the plan. 

" I have no difficulty in my mind respecting the 
assumption, but as to the time of doing it I am not 
so well satisfied. I have not a doubt of our ability, 
because if the whole debt must be paid by general 
efforts of the State and general governments, the 
same money may be raised, with greater ease, by 
the general government alone." 

April 12. On assuming the State debts. 

Mr. Sherman : " When I see the House so 
equally divided on an important subject, it gives 
me great concern on account of the threatening 
aspect it has on the peace and welfare of the 
government. 

" The support of public credit by a provision for 
doing justice to the creditors of the United States 
was one great object that led to the establishment 
of the present government ; and should it fail of 
doing justice to so great a proportion of them as 
are involved in this provision, it would lose the 
confidence of many of its best friends, and disap- 
point the expectations of the people in general. 

" I consider the debts incurred by the several 
States in support of the war, and for the common 
defence and general welfare, as the debts of the 
United States, and that those creditors have as 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 239 

just and meritorious a claim on the Union for pay- 
ment as any creditors whatever. A great part of 
them were assumed by the States in behalf of the 
United States in consequence of the requisitions of 
Congress. 

" I shall not now go into a particular discussion 
of the proposition before the committee, (everything 
having been already said that may reflect light on 
the subject,) but shall only state the reasons for 
which I shall give my vote in the affirmative. 

" The measure appears to me both just and poli- 
tic; just in respect to the creditors whose debts 
are due for services and supplies rendered in sup- 
port of the common cause of the Union, which 
therefore ought to be paid out of the same com- 
mon funds as the other creditors of the United 
States, and although some of the States would be 
able to provide for their creditors as well as the 
United States, yet that is not the case as to those 
whose exertions, sufferings, and burdens have been 
much greater than the others, and it would not 
give satisfaction to assume the debts of some 
States and not of others. 

"The measure will be just in respect to the 
several States, because each will bear only its just 
proportion of the present burden, and their past 
exertions and expenditures will be equitably ad- 
justed in the final settlements of their accounts for 
which effectual provision is to be made by some 
act that provides for the assumption of the debts. 

" The policy of the measure consists in its ten- 
dency to promote justice and harmony and confi- 
dence in the government in lifting the burdens of 



240 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

a number of States who, from their situation and 
circumstances during the war, were necessitated to 
make greater exertions, and subjected to greater 
sufferings and expenditures, than the other States, 
and by putting all the funds necessary for paying 
the debts under one direction, to facilitate the col- 
lection and render them more productive and less 
embarrassing to Congress. The principal resource 
for pay (the impost) is in possession of the general 
government. 

" But if the State debts are not assumed, the 
States which have heretofore borne the greatest 
burdens will be left still to sustain those unequal 
and grievous burdens, or their creditors will be left 
without any provisions for satisfying their claim, 
either of which would be unreasonable and occa- 
sion great uneasiness, which will tend to embarrass 
and obstruct the measures of government. 

" It has been said, let those States wait until their 
accounts with the United States shall be settled, 
and then receive security for the balances that 
may be due to them. But why should those States 
be subjected to greater burdens at present than the 
other States? As it is not known which are debtor 
or creditor States, why not bear the burden 
equally until that can be ascertained ? If there is 
to be no settlement, I think it is a conclusive argu- 
ment that the whole public debt should be assumed 
by the United States. It ought to be presumed 
that the States have made exertions according to 
their abilities and in due proportion, until the con- 
trary appears, and that can no otherwise appear 
but by a settlement of the accounts ; and until that 



SERVICES m CONGRESS. 



241 



is done I can see no good reason why any State 
should bear more than its just proportion of the 
existing debts, whether contracted by the United 
States, or by the individual States, if incurred for 
the common defence or general welfare of the 
Union. It is said there is no rule to establish 
or ascertain the quotas of the several States ; but 
I think the rule is fixed by the resolution of the 
late Congress of the 22d of November, 1777, and 
the other of June 1778, and the provision in the 
new Constitution for apportioning direct taxes." 

Vote on the assumption, 29 for, 3 1 against. 

On the 2 1 St of April, Mr. Sherman suggested 
the assumption of certain specific sums for each 
State ; and being called upon to ascertain in what 
proportion he meant to fill up the blanks, he read 
the following as a statement of the debts owing by 
the States, and the proportion he wanted to have 
assumed. 



Assumption of the State Debts^ not exceeding the sums 
in the last column, Due as per Secretary's Report. 



urns to be assumed. 










Dollars. 


New Hampshire .... 300,000 . 


. . 300,000 


Massachusetts 








5,226,801 . 


. . 4,000,000 


Connecticut 








• i,9Si»i73 • 


. . 1,600,000 


New York . . 








• 1.167,575 . 


. . 1,000,000 


New Jersey 








788,680 . 


. . 750,000 


Pennsylvania . 








. 2,200,000 . 


. . 2,000,000 


Delaware . . 










. . 100,000 


Maryland . . 








800,000 . 


. . 750.000 


Virginia . . . 








. 3»6oo,743 . 


. . 3,000,000 


North Carolina 










. . 1,600,000 


South Carolina . 








5,386,232 . . 


. 4,000,000 


Georgia .... 










200,000 



16 



f5i9>3oo,ooo 



242 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

The bill as finally passed, Aug. 4, 1790, provided 
for the assumption of the State debts as follows. 

New Hampshire 300,000 

Massachusetts 4,000,000 

Rhode Island 200,000 

New York 1,200,000 

Connecticut 1,600,000 

New Jersey 800,000 

Pennsylvania 2,200,000 

Delaware 200,000 

Maryland 800,000 

Virginia 3»5oo,ooo 

North Carolina 2,400,000 

South Carolina 4,000,000 

Georgia 300,000 

1^21,500,000 

Tuesday, May 25. Mr. Gerry's motion on the 
assumption of the State debts being under con- 
sideration, Mr. Sherman summed up the argument 
as follows : " The question now under consideration 
is, whether the State debts that have been con- 
tracted for the benefit of the Union shall be as- 
sumed by the United States. This is an essential 
part of the system reported by the Secretary of 
the Treasury for funding the national debt. The 
substance of the arguments in favor of the assump- 
tion are : — 

" I. That the debts were contracted on behalf 
and for the benefit of the United States and there- 
fore justice requires that they should be assumed. 

" 2. That some States have taken upon them- 
selves greater sums than others, and beyond their 
just proportions or abilities to pay. 

" 3. That the funds out of which these debts 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 243 

ought to be paid, are by the Constitution put un- 
der the direction of the Federal Government; and 
this has been done by the authority of the people 
since the debts were contracted, and for the ex- 
press purpose of paying the debts of the United 
States, of which these are a part, and therefore 
ought to follow the funds. 

" 4. That the imposts and excises, so far as ex- 
cises may be necessary, can be best managed 
under one direction. 

" 5. That equal justice ought to be done to all 
the creditors, but this cannot be done by the in- 
dividual States, some of them being unable to 
make the necessary provision, they being bur- 
dened beyond their quota, and deprived of their 
former revenues. 

" 6. That the measure is founded in good policy, 
as well as justice, as it will promote harmony among 
the different classes of creditors, and among the 
several States, and attach them to the govern- 
ment and facilitate its operations. 

" I shall now take notice of some of the principal 
objections. 

"I. It is said that the accounts of the several 
States with the United States ought to be settled. 
I agree that no payment ought to be made to the 
States until their accounts are settled. But that 
ought not to affect the rights of individuals, who 
have liquidated claims for services or supplies ren- 
dered for the benefit of the Union, whether the 
contract was made with a member, or an officer 
of the United States. It is not in the power of 
these creditors to compel a settlement, nor ought 



244 ^-^^ ^^^ ^^ ROGER SHERMAN. 

their claims to be postponed or affected for want of 
such settlement ; but such of the securities as may 
be the property of a State are on a different footing. 

"2. It is objected that when the States took the 
debts on themselves, they expected to pay them. 
This cannot be admitted without some explana- 
tion : by the confederation all charges of war, &c. 
incurred for the common defence and general wel- 
fare, were to be paid out of a common treasury, 
which was to be supplied by the several States, 
paying in their respective quotas, and a final ad- 
justment of the accounts was to be made; and 
the individual States expected that all the sources 
of revenue would remain in their hands, out of 
which they expected to pay their quotas of all the 
debts and expenses of the Union : but by a revo- 
lution in government, the revenues are put under 
the power of the Federal Government, for the ex- 
press purpose of paying the debts, so that the 
mode of payment is materially altered, and the 
obligation transferred from the individual States 
to the United States. 

"3. It is objected that this is a new project — 
and not mentioned in the Constitution. The nov- 
elty of it is no just objection against adopting it — 
if the measure be just. It was mentioned in the 
general convention — but it was not thought neces- 
sary or proper to insert it in the Constitution, for 
Congress would have sufficient power to adopt it 
if they should judge it expedient. 

" 4. It is said that the States most urgent for this 
measure are not incapacitated by adopting the 
new Constitution for paying their debts. 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 245 

" Answer. The States most burdened with debts, 
and the only ones who expected to have sums 
greater than their quotas assumed, are Massachu- 
setts and South Carolina; and these depended 
chiefly on impost, of which they are now wholly 
deprived. 

" Connecticut does not wish or expect to have 
more of her debt assumed, than her just quota of 
the whole sum to be assumed, so that no other 
State will bear any greater burden on her account. 

" The debt of New Hampshire will not amount 
to half the sum of her quota of the debts proposed 
to be assumed, but she has been in favor of the 
measure on principles of justice and national policy. 

"But a very fallacious argument has been ad- 
vanced respecting the ratio in which some States 
contribute to the common funds by way of im- 
posts; and it comes with a very ill grace from 
the gentleman who advanced it, because it is so 
fully refuted by the report of a committee of the 
late Congress, of which committee he was a mem- 
ber. It appears on the Journal of the 29th April, 
1783, page 203, whereby it is shown that the sev- 
eral States contribute by a general impost, in pro- 
portion to the number of their inhabitants, whether 
the articles^re imported, and the duties paid, in 
the State m which they are consumed or not, 
as the tax is ultimately paid by the consumers. 
[Here a part of the Journal was read.] 

"5. It is objected that it will be difficult to dis- 
criminate the State debts contracted for the Union, 
from their other debts. But what necessity is there 
for such a discrimination, if only certain sums are 



246 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

assumed, and the States charged with them ? The 
whole will be adjusted among the States on the 
settlement of their accounts; besides, their debts 
for other purposes are inconsiderable. 

" 6. Objection : if only part of the State debts be 
assumed, equal justice will not be done to all the 
creditors. 

"Answer. The small sums that will remain of 
the debts of any of the States can, and doubtless 
will, be as well provided for by the respective 
States as those assumed will by the United States. 

" It is proposed to assume the whole of the debts 
of the States of New Hampshire, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
and Georgia ; and the small sums that will remain 
of the debts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, North 
Carolina, and South Carolina can easily be pro- 
vided for by those States. 

" 7. It has been objected that Virginia has made 
greater exertions in complying with the specie re- 
quisitions of Congress, and in sinking a consider- 
able part of the principal of her debts, since the 
peace, and therefore it would be inequitable to in- 
crease her burden by assuming the debts of other 
States which have not made like exertions. 

" The answer is, that it is not prom)sed to lay 
any additional burden on that State. The amount 
of the State debts to be assumed will not exceed 
$23,000,000; the debt of Virginia to be assumed 
amounts to $3,681,000, which is something more 
than that State's quota of the whole sum to be as- 
sumed, in proportion to its number of representa- 
tives ; so that the interest of Virginia would be no 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 247 

Otherwise affected by the assumption than by trans- 
ferring its debt from its particular fund to the com- 
mon funds. It is also proposed to assume of the 
debts of Connecticut and North Carolina the just 
amount of their respective quotas of the whole 
sum proposed to be assumed. 

" 8. It is objected, that the debts of Georgia are 
not on interest If anything to the purpose can be 
inferred from this objection, it is in favor of the 
assumption ; for, if the debts are just, they ought 
immediately to be paid, or put on interest. 

"9. It is objected that the debt of 'the United 
States will be so increased by the assumption of 
the State debts, as to make direct taxes or excises 
necessary to be laid by Congress, which would be 
odious to the people. 

"Answer. The assumption of the State debts is 
a part of the plan reported by the Secretary of the 
Treasury. — He does not propose direct taxes, nor 
excises, further than those that have already been 
adopted by the House — and I think some reliance 
ought to be had on the opinion of the officer whom 
government have placed at the head of the depart- 
ment of finance. 

" The whole of the debts must be paid by the 
citizens of the United States ; they do now exist, 
and government is under obligation to do justice 
to all creditors. The people have put all the 
sources of revenue in the power of Congress, for 
that purpose, and will doubtless be satisfied with 
their administration of them. The resources of the 
nation will be abundantly sufficient, if prudently 
managed, to pay the annual interest of the debt 



248 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

and gradually to discharge the principal within a 
reasonable time. The western territory, if properly 
disposed of, will sink a considerable part of the 
national debt. It was observed that excises are 
the most expensive taxes to collect ; but Dr. Smith, 
on the Wealth of Nations, says, that in Britain the 
collection of excises costs at the rate of but five per 
cent, but that imposts at the rate of ten per cent ; 
this is according to my best recollection. I have 
not the book now before me. 

" 10. It is objected, that the securities will prob- 
ably centre in large towns, or get into the hands 
of foreigners. — I think it is probable that the se- 
curities will centre in the hands of such citizens in 
the several States as shall choose to live on the 
interest of their capital, and in the hands of cor- 
porate bodies instituted to promote science and 
other useful purposes ; but the securities will not 
get out of the possession of the original owners 
without their consent, nor (if well funded) will 
they be induced to part with them for less than 
their just value, and it is reasonable that they 
should be left at liberty to dispose of their own 
property. 

"II. It is objected, that funds are not to be 
provided for the State debts this session, and we 
do not know what may be the opinions of our 
successors. 

" Answer. The provision is proposed to be made 
by the present Congress at their next session. 

" 12. Objection: the House are divided in senti- 
ment, and it will be safer to negative the proposi- 
tion than to adopt it by a small majority. — It 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 249 

appears to me that the greatest safety will be on 
the other side. There is no dispute about the jus- 
tice of the claims of the creditors, the only point 
in dispute is, which would be the most expedient 
mode of payment, and which would be most agree- 
able to the public opinion. My reasons for sup- 
posing that it will be safer to adopt a measure by 
a small majority than to negative it, is, because 
people are more influenced by their feelings than 
by speculative reasonings, or nice calculations. If 
the debts are assumed, what inconveniences will 
the people feel from it? And, if they reason upon 
it, they will find that no injustice will ultimately 
take place, but all will be set right by a liquidation 
of the accounts. But if the State debts are not as- 
sumed and the creditors are not provided for by 
the States, or if the States are subjected to heavy 
direct taxes in making the provision, these evils 
will be severely felt, and must create uneasiness 
and complaints which may prove very prejudicial 
to the administration of government. 

** 13. It is said that ' several of the legislatures 
have lately been in session and have not applied to 
Congress or instructed their representatives to ob- 
tain an assumption of the State debts.' 

" I think their opinions cannot be inferred from 
their silence on the subject. — In matters that 
concern only the particular interest»of a State, the 
State may properly instruct their representatives, 
who in such case would act only as agents for 
the State : but in matters which concern the Union 
in general, such interference might be of dangerous 
tendency ; for all the members ought to be at per- 



2SO THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

feet liberty to act their best and unbiased judg- 
ment upon public measures, according to the light 
and information that may be obtained by a public 
discussion of them in the House, which may not 
be known to the legislatures of the particular 
States. I have endeavored briefly to give the 
reasons which have induced me to be in favor of 
this measure, and to obviate the objections that 
have been made to it, which I submit to the opin- 
ion of the committee, without troubling them with 
any observations." 

The bill providing for the assumption of the 
State debts, notwithstanding the strenuous opposi- 
tion of Mr. Madison, was finally carried by a com- 
promise arrangement, by which the permanent 
seat of government was to be fixed on the Potomac, 
in consideration of enough southern votes being 
secured to pass the bill for assuming the State 
debts. Mr. Sherman voted against the Potomac 
site. 



Part IV. — The Slave Trade. 

On the nth of February, 1790, an address was 
presented from the Quakers of Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, Delaware, and the western part of Mary- 
land and Virginia, on the "licentious wickedness 
of the African trade for slaves." A similar ad- 
dress was presented from the Society of Friends 
of the City of New York. 

Mr. Sherman suggested a reference to a com- 
mittee of one member from each State, because 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 251 

several States had already made some regulations 
on the subject. 

This was objected to principally by the repre- 
sentatives from South Carolina and Georgia. 

Mr. Sherman then observed that the petitioners 
from New York stated that they had applied to 
the legislature of that State to prohibit certain 
practices which they considered to be improper, 
and which tended to injure the wellbeing of the 
community; that the legislature had considered 
their application, but had applied no remedy, be- 
cause they supposed that power was exclusively 
vested in the general government under the Con- 
stitution of the United States ; it would therefore 
be proper to commit that petition, in order to as- 
certain what are the powers of the general govern- 
ment in the case. 

The next day, February 12th, a memorial of 
the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, signed by 
Benjamin Franklin as President, was presented, 
asking Congress to devise means for the abolition 
of slavery. This called forth an exciting debate, 
in which the advocates of slavery, though opposed 
by such men as Madison and Parker from Virginia, 
as well as by the northern representatives, made 
up in violence and denunciation what they lacked 
in numbers. They attacked the motives of their 
opponents, and claimed that the Bible and the 
universal practice of mankind were on their side. 

Mr. Sherman endeavored to calm the agitation 
by saying that he could see no difficulty in com- 
mitting the memorial; because it was probable 
the committee would understand their business, 



252 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

and perhaps they might bring in such a report as 
would be satisfactory to gentlemen on both sides 
of the House. 

Finally, on the 15th of February, it was voted 
by forty-three to fourteen that the petitions should 
be sent to a committee. 

On the 8th of March, this committee made their 
report, in which, after setting forth the Constitu- 
tional restrictions on the subject, they stated that 
Congress had authority to interdict the African 
trade, so far as it is or may be carried on by citi- 
zens of the United States for supplying foreigners, 
and to make provisions for the humane treatment 
of slaves in all cases while on their passage to the 
United States, or to foreign parts, so far as it re- 
spects citizens of the United States. The House, 
in committee of the whole, adopted this report in 
substance. 

March 9th, it was moved that the report of the 
committee be recommitted. Mr. Sherman op- 
posed this motion. He said that this report was 
agreeable to his ideas; it was prudent, humane, 
and judicious. 

After considerable debate, on March 23d, it 
was voted by twenty-nine to twenty-five that the 
report of the committee, and also the report of the 
committee of the whole, be inserted in the Journal. 

The second session of Congress adjourned on 
the I2th of August, 1790. 

Mr. Sherman's desire for the abolition of slavery 
is expressed in a letter to Gov. Huntington, March 
7, 1792, where, referring to the massacres resulting 
from the negro revolt in Hayti, he writes, — " This 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS 2^1 

shows the bad effects of slavery, and I hope it will 
tend to its abolition." 

Mr. Sherman's brother Josiah died in 1789. 
The widow wrote to some of her .friends to see 
what assistance could be obtained to enable her 
son Roger Minott Sherman to continue his studies 
at Yale. It was apparently in response to this 
appeal that Mr. Sherman wrote the following 
letter to his nephew. 

New York, April 28, 1790. 

Dear Nephew, — I would have you continue 
your studies and remain at my house as you have 
done hitherto. I hope you will be provided for 
so as to complete your education at College, and 
lay a foundation for future usefulness. When I 
return home I shall take such further order re- 
specting it as may be proper. I shall afford you 
as much assistance as under my circumstances 
may be prudent. 

I am your affectionate uncle 

Roger Sherman. 

Mr. Sherman died a year after his nephew grad- 
uated; but before he died he doubtless saw the 
promise of that distinguished career, which added 
new lustre to the Sherman name. Senator Hoar 
has sent me the following interesting statements in 
reference to this eminent lawyer. 

" Roger Minott Sherman, son of Mr. Sherman's 
brother Josiah, was born in Woburn, Mass., May 
22, 1773* Mr. Sherman was much attached to 
him and defrayed the cost of his education. He 



254 ^-^^ ^^^^ O^ ROGER SHERMAN, 

was an inmate of Mr. Sherman's family while a 
student at Yale College. He was graduated in the 
year 1792. He was one of the ablest lawyers and 
advocates New England ever produced, probably 
having no equal at the bar of New England except 
Jeremiah Mason and Daniel Webster. I attended 
a dinner of the Alumni of Yale College some years 
ago. President Woolsey sat on one side of me, 
and Dr. Leonard Bacon on the other; and right 
opposite at the table was the Rev. Dr. Atwater, 
then I believe of Princeton, but formerly Mr. 
Sherman's pastor in Fairfield. President Woolsey 
said that Roger Minott Sherman came nearer his 
conception of Cicero than any other person he 
ever heard speak. They used frequently to invite 
him to deliver public addresses at the College. 
But he never would accept the invitation. After 
refusal, the invitation would be renewed again in 
a few years with like result. 

" To the above estimate of Mr. Sherman, Dr. 
Bacon and Mr. Atwater agreed. 

" When I was in the Law School at Harvard, 
Prof. Simon Greenleaf told the class in one of his 
lectures that he was once travelling through Con- 
necticut in a carriage on a summer journey, and 
came to a town, I think Fairfield, which was the 
county seat. He stopped to get his dinner and 
rest his horses. While the horses were being fed 
he went into the court-house, intending to stay only 
a few minutes, and found Roger Minott Sherman 
arguing a case before the Supreme Court with 
Judge Gould on the other side. He was so much 
interested in the discussion that he stayed through 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 255 

the afternoon. Mr. Sherman and Judge Gould 
were engaged on opposite sides in nearly all the 
cases. Prof. Greenleaf was so much interested in 
their masterly arguments that he remained and 
attended court during the entire week. I do not 
remember his exact language, but he, in substance, 
gave an estimate of Mr. Sherman as a profound 
lawyer and able advocate, not less exalted than 
President Woolsey had given of him as an orator. 

" Some slight account of Roger Minott Sherman 
will be found in Goodrich's Recollections. 

"Mr. Evarts once told me that there was an 
important controversy involving the title to a val- 
uable cargo in which a lawyer in Hartford was on 
one side, and a member of the bar of the city of 
New York on the other. The New York lawyer 
went to Hartford to negotiate about the case. The 
Hartford lawyer had obtained the opinion of Roger 
Minott Sherman for his client and held it in his 
hand during the conversation, labeled on the out- 
side, " Opinion of Roger Minott Sherman," and 
moved it about under the eye of his opponent. 
The opinion was in fact that the Hartford man's 
client had no case. But the New York lawyer 
supposed that if the man had got Roger Minott 
Sherman's opinion, and seemed to set so much 
store upon the document, it was favorable to the 
party who had consulted him. He was much 
alarmed and settled the case on favorable terms to 
his antagonist. 

" Mr Sherman was famous for the quickness of 
his wit. A story went the rounds of the papers in 
my youth, which may or may not have any truth 



2S6 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

in it, but which I will record. It is said that he 
was once arguing a case against Nathaniel Smith, 
a very able but rather coarse lawyer. Mr. Smith 
had discussed the question of law with the subtlety 
for which he was distinguished. Mr. Sherman 
said to the court that he thought his brother 
Smith's metaphysics were out of place in that dis- 
cussion; that he was not adverse to such refine- 
ment at a proper time, and would willingly, on a fit 
occasion, chop logic and split hairs with him. 
Smith pulled a hair out of his own head, and hold- 
ing it up, said, — ' Split that.' Sherman replied, 
quick as lightning, ' May it please your honor, I 
did n't say bristles.' " 

The following is the passage from L. G. Good- 
rich's " Recollections of a Lifetime," referred to by 
Senator Hoar (Vol. I. p. 47). 

" Roger Minot Sherman was distinguished for 
acute logical powers and great elegance of diction, 
— words and sentences seemed to flow from his 
lips as if he were reading from the Spectator. He 
was a man of refined personal appearance and 
manners; tall, stooping a little in his walk; de- 
liberate in his movements and speech, indicating 
circumspection, which was one of his characteris- 
tics. His countenance was pale and thoughtful, 
his eye remarkable for a keen penetrating expres- 
sion. Though a man of grave general aspect, he 
was not destitute of humor. He was once travel- 
ling in West Virginia, and stopping at a small 
tavern, was beset with questions by the landlord, 
as to where he came from, whither he was going, 
etc. At last said Mr. Sherman, * Sit down, sir. 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 2 $7 

and I will tell you all about it/ The landlord sat 
down. * Sir/ said he, ' I am from the Blue Light 
State of Connecticut/ The landlord stared. * I 
am a deacon in a Calvinistic church.' The land- 
lord was evidently shocked. * I was a member of 
the Hartford Convention.' This was too much for 
the democratic nerves of the landlord ; he speedily 
departed, and left his lodger to himself/' 



Part V. — National Bank. 

Third Session. — Dec. 6, 1790-March 3, 1791. 

The third session of Congress began December 
6, 1790. On the 3d of January, 1791, Mr. 
Sherman wrote the following letter to Governor 
Huntington, giving him an account of the matters 
pending before Congress. 

PHiLADELPmA, Jan. 3rd, 1791. 

Sir, — There are diverse weighty matters before 
Congress to be considered and acted upon this 
session ; such as making further provisions for pay- 
ing the interest of the national debt ; establishing a 
National Bank; a Land Office; a Mint; weights 
and measures; regulating the Militia; the Post 
Office ; the coasting trade ; the election of Presi- 
dent; and to provide in case of vacancy of the 
offices both of President and Vice President ; some 
further provisions in the judiciary department as to 
fees, process and execution, and some regulations 

17 



2S8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN^, 

respecting commercial affairs. These have been 
already entered upon. Others may occur, besides 
applications from private persons. There have 
been several petitions preferred from public credi- 
tors for a greater allowance of interest than is pro- 
vided by the Act providing for the public debt, 
on which the Senate have resolved that it is inex- 
pedient to make any alteration, in which all con- 
curred except one. I believe the House will 
concur in the same sentiment by a great majority. 

I hope Congress will be able to finish the busi- 
ness by the first of March next, so as not to call a 
meeting under the new election. 

Our loss of brave officers and men in the late 
western expedition is great, and much to be 
lamented. No authentic accounts of the particular 
circumstances of the action have been received, 
further than what was at first transmitted by 
General Harmar, which your Excellency has 
doubtless seen in the newspapers. The enclosed 
paper of Dec. 22 contains the Secretary's plan 
of a Bank. That of Dec. 27, the supplementary 
funds for which a bill is prepared and brought in. 
That of the first of January contains the copy of a 
letter from London of the 4th of Nov. giving an 
account of a pacification between Britain and 
Spain. 

Your Excellency will be furnished with the acts 
of Congress by the Secretary of State. There has 
been but one law completed this session, and that 
is only a short one to supply a deficiency in one of 
the last session. 

The weather has been very cold here. Teams 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 259 

pass the Delaware on the ice opposite to this City, 
and there is snow sufficient for good sleighing in 
the country. The market is good and plentiful. 

The House provided here for the accommoda- 
tion of Congres's is quite as convenient as that at N. 
York. The galleries are not quite so commodious. 

I am Sir with much respect your Excellency's 
obedient humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

The most important matter discussed in this 
short session of three months was the bill for a 
National Bank. Although no speeches were made 
by Mr. Sherman on this subject, so far as the re- 
cord shows, he gave the bill his hearty support. 
In the course of the debate he wrote on a slip of 
paper a statement of his views on the subject, 
which he handed to Mr. Madison; and Mr. 
Madison, in a note at the bottom, indicated his 
objections. This interesting document, which came 
from Mr. Madison's papers, in which the argu- 
ments on both sides of this important question are 
given in a nut-shell, is in the possession of Hon. 
G. F. Hoar. The following is a copy. 

"You will admit that Congress have power to 
provide by law for raising, depositing and apply- 
ing money for the purposes enumerated in the 
Constitution 
X (and generally of regulating the finances). 

** That they have power so far as no particular 
rules are pointed out in the Constitution to make 
such rules and regulations as they may judge ne- 



26o THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

cessary and proper to effect these purposes. The 
only question that remains is — Is a bank [a neces- 
sary and] a proper measure for effecting these pur- 
poses ? And is not this a question of expediency 
rather than of right? 

"Feb. 4, 1791. This handed to J. M. by Mr. 
Sherman during the debate on the constitutionality 
of the bill for a National Bank. The line marked 
X given up by him on the objection of J. M. The 
interlineation of * a necessary & ' by J. M. to 
which he gave no answer other than a smile." 

The following letter, of Feb. nth, 1791, from 
Mr. Sherman to William Williams, is of a more 
personal and confidential character than most of 
his correspondence. 

Philadelphia, Feb. nth, 1791. 

Dear Sir, — I received your much esteemed 
favor of I instant yesterday, I should have com- 
menced a correspondence with you before this 
time, had it not been that the proceedings and 
debates in Congress were more fully communicated 
in the newspapers than they could be by letter, as 
well as all other occurrences of importance. 

But I seldom see the papers from Connecticut 
or hear much of the politics of that State : in the 
time of the war I always received by your letters 
the most full account of public measures and also 
of the motives and springs of action from which 
they originated, and the principal agents by which 
they were effected, to my great satisfaction. I 
shall ever retain a grateful remembrance of our 



7./^. /*.X-^ ^z-'— <-*^ #U-**.^e^ j*^{Ch^A^.^«^a1^/L 



262 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

former friendship while we were fellow laborers 
in the common cause of our couiitry in several 
departments. I am also very sensible of the inde- 
fatigable exertions of your brother, the late sheriff, 
in the service of the United States, and his sharing 
in the common calamity by a delay and deprecia- 
tion of his pay. 

Your nephew at Hartford executed the office of 
Deputy Sheriff to good satisfaction when he at- 
tended the Superior Court, and I believe to gen 
eral satisfaction in other respects. And I wish 
that the United States may avail themselves of his 
services in the collection of the revenue. I am not 
in the line of appointment to offices. I mentioned 
him to Mr Trumbull who concurs with me as to 
his qualifications. The new revenue bill has not 
yet passed the Senate : it is like to undergo consid- 
erable alterations in that House, and what offices 
will be ultimately established is not yet known to 
me. I shall bear in mind your request. 

You and I have borne the burden and heat of 
the day, but the most faithful and painful services 
are soon forgotten when they are passed, and 
young persons are rising up who would be willing 
to crowd us off of the stage to make room for 
themselves, but they can't deprive us of the con- 
solation arising from a consciousness of having 
done our duty. 

A bill for establishing a National Bank has 
passed both Houses, and a bill to admit Kentucky 
into the Union. Vermont has adopted the Con- 
stitution and applied for admission, their applica- 
tion is referred to a committee by each House. 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 263 

This session will end the third day of March. 
The I^ouse of Representatives have passed a bill 
fixing the time for the next meeting of Congress 
to the first Monday in November next. I am Sir 
with great respect and esteem, 

Your friend and humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 



Part VI. — Senate. May 1 79 1 — July 1 793. 

At the May session, 1791, of the Connecticut 
Assembly, Mr. Sherman was appointed United 
States Senator, in the place of William Samuel 
Johnson resigned. This position Mr. Sherman 
held till his death in July, 1793. As the sessions 
of the Senate during this time were secret, we have 
no account of his speeches in that body. 

On the 2 1st of November, 1791, Mr. Sherman 
wrote the following letter to Governor Huntington. 

Philadelphia, Nov. 21, 1791. 

Sir, — The President's speech at the opening 
of the present session of Congress gives a favor- 
able view of public affairs, and particularly that 
the revenues are likely to be adequate to their 
objects, so that no additional burdens need be 
imposed on the people. 

Both branches of Congress are nearly full, and 
have so arranged the principal business of the ses- 
sion that each have taken a proportion of it, and 
are forwarding it with the usual despatch. 

The House of Representatives after some days 



264 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

debate, have passed a vote for fixing the number 
of Representatives for the next, and succeeding 
elections, under the present census, at one for 
every 30CXX) inhabitants, which will make the whole 
to be about 112. The members were divided on 
the question, 35 being for it and 23 against it, two 
members that were for a less number, who were 
present at the debate, were absent when the vote 
was taken. I understand that some members intend 
to move to lessen the number when the bill is con- 
sidered in the House. I am not able to make any 
conjecture what will be the opinion of the Senate 
on the subject. 

It appears to me that no advantage can be de- 
rived from so great an increase of the number 
sufficient to countervail the expense. As the ju- 
risdiction of Congress is limited to a few objects 
that concern the States in general, a less number 
might give the necessary information, and more 
conveniently transact the public business. In- 
creasing the number will not increase the powers 
of that branch of the legislature, but it will lessen 
the weight and the responsibility of each individ- 
ual member. I wish that the number was so fixed 
by the Constitution as not to be varied by Con- 
gress. When the Constitution was formed the 
number of the Representatives was in proportion 
to the number of Senators as five to two. At that 
rate the Representatives should be increased at the 
next election to 75, which being apportioned to 
the several States, would not lessen the number 
first assigned to Connecticut, nor vary their pro- 
portion of suffrage in either House from that of 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS, 26$ 

allowing one vote to each State. If the Constitu- 
tion should be altered so as always to preserve the 
like proportion between the numbers in each House 
as at first, I think it would be a real amendment ; 
and the expense would be about 40000 dollars per 
annum less, than if the amendment heretofore rec- 
ommended should be ratified ; which sum might be 
applied toward sinking the national debt. 

We have no late accounts from the hostile In- 
dians in the territory northwest of the Ohio ; a 
treaty with the Cherokee nation has been lately 
concluded which will probably secure peace to 
the southwestern frontier. Mr Hammond, a min- 
ister plenipotentiary from his British Majesty, has 
had an audience, and has been announced by the 
President of the United States. 

By the latest accounts from France, the new 
Constitution of Government has been ratified by 
the King, and will probably secure to the people 
of that nation the peaceful enjoyment of civil and 
religious liberty; which may probably have a 
good effect on the other nations of Europe, and 
strengthen the alliance between France and these 
States. 

The public papers here contain but little news. 
I have enclosed a morning and an evening paper of 
this day. I am Sir with much respect and esteem. 

Your Excellency's obedient humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

On the last day of this session, Mr. Sherman, in 
the following letter, gave Gov. Huntington an ac- 
count of the work of the session. 



266 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

Philadelphia, May 8th, 1792. 

Sir, — The Congress will close their session this 
day. It has been about six weeks longer than I 
at first expected. Many bills have been passed of 
a public nature, and considerable time has been 
spent on private applications. Measures have 
been taken to lessen that branch of business in 
future, by enabling the executive departments to 
give relief. The first bill that passed the two 
Houses for fixing the number of Representatives 
at one hundred and twenty was disapproved by 
the President ; that is the only instance in which he 
has exercised his power of negative. The last act 
fixes the number at one hundred and five, allowing 
the State of Connecticut to choose seven. The 
Indian war has made it necessary to increase the 
imposts on some articles, part of which is limited 
to two years. Measures will be taken by the Ex- 
ecutive to obtain a conference with the hostile 
tribes of Indians in order to settle a permanent 
peace. 

The enclosed paper contains a copy of the law 
for regulating the Militia of the several States. 
Another act is passed for calling them into service 
on necessary Occasions, which I have not a copy 
of, but all the laws will soon be transmitted to 
your Excellency officially by the Secretary of 
State. Mr Thomas Pinckney who is appointed 
Minister to the Court of Great Britain is now in 
this city. He says he expects to embark for 
London within about six weeks. I don't learn 
that much progress has been made in any negotia- 



SERVICES IN CONGRESS. 26/ 

tions with the British Minister here. If we could 
get possession of the Western Posts, I believe it 
would be a favorable circumstance for obtaining 
and preserving peace with the Indians. I am Sir 
with the most perfect respect, 

Your Excellency's obedient humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 



268 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAAT. 



CHAPTER XII. 

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 

On the 14th of March, 1742, a few weeks before 
completing his twenty-first year, Roger Sherman 
united with the Congregational Church in Stough- 
ton. His father had died the year previous, and 
the care of his mother and four younger brothers 
and sisters devolved upon him. So that his re- 
ligious life began with the performance of these 
filial and fraternal duties. This was the type of 
his religious character throughout his life. He 
was neither a mystic nor an ascetic. The faith- 
ful performance of duty, in the family, in the 
church, in the State, was the constant rule of his 
life. 

As soon as he was settled in New Milford, he 
transferred his church relations from Stoughton to 
that place. In the church in New Milford, we 
find him performing the duties of clerk, of treas- 
urer, and of deacon. He was equally active in 
church work when he removed to New Haven. 
His contribution to the College Chapel, the first 
year of his residence in New Haven, illustrates his 
readiness, according to his means, to help every 
good work. The Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the 
younger, who was his pastor during the last 
twenty-four years of his life, says of him, — " He 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 269 

was ready to bear his part of the expense of those 
designs, public and private, which he esteemed 
useful ; and he was given to hospitality/' 

Mr. Sherman's interest in the church in New 
Haven, and his attachment to Dr. Edwards, is 
shown in the following letter to his son-in-law, 
Simeon Baldwin. 

New York, Feb. 4th, 1790. 

Dear Sir, — I this day received a letter from 
my son John dated Jan. 14th, enclosing one for his 
wife which I have forwarded to you. 

He writes that he has recovered his health, that 
Issac is there and their prospects are good. You 
wrote me some time ago that you were notified to 
attend a meeting of some members of our society, 
I wish to be informed whether there is any new dif- 
ficulty arisen, and how the members stand affected 
to Dr. Edwards. ... I esteem him one of the best of 
preachers that I am acquainted with, sound in faith, 
and pious and diligent in his studies and attention 
to the duties of his office. I should be very sorry 
to have anything done to grieve him or weaken his 
hands in the great and important work committed 
to his charge. If he should leave the Society I 
should expect they would be divided and broken 
up. I hope all the well wishers to pure religion 
will use their influence to preserve peace, and avoid 
calling Society meetings unnecessarily, as I think 
it would only promote dissention. Our Savior 
says ** Wo to the world because of offences ; but 
wo to that man by whom the offence cometh." I 
am willing that anything I have written should be 



270 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

made known if it will do any good, not only to the 
friendly but to the disaffected if there be any such 
— I feel well affected to all the members, and wish 
to have cordial harmony restored. Perhaps there 
is nothing more pleasing to the adversary of man- 
kind than discord among Christian brethren. — I 
shall enclose to you next Saturday's paper, which 
will contain the news. 

The joining with the first Society in Lectures 
has been urged by some, but a majority of the 
church did not think it expedient. I believe it has 
never been moved for on the part of Dr Dana nor 
do I think he would wish to have it take place. It 
is a matter of no great importance, if there were 
no diversity of sentiment between the two pastors, 
but as there really is, and as some members of our 
church would be dissatisfied with it, I think it 
would be highly criminal to insist upon it, so as to 
break the unity of the church. Let each preach 
his own lecture, and every one may attend either, 
or both, at pleasure. As to Dr Beardsley*s affair, 
I understand he is pretty well fixed in his mind 
not to return to our Society, but to join the first, 
in which I think it is best he should be indulged. 
I think that Deacon Austin could do as much to 
reconcile matters as any member of the Society, 
and that it is the duty of every one to use their in- 
fluence to that end, and to strengthen the hands 
and encourage the heart of Dr. Edwards in his 
ministerial work. 

I am very respectfully yours, 

Roger Sherman, 

Simeon Baldwin, Esqr. 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS, 2/1 

While tolerant of differences of opinion on reli- 
gious matters, he disliked and distrusted irreligious 
men, who made a boast of their impiety. On this 
ground he opposed the confirmation of Gouverneur 
Morris as minister to France. 

He admitted Mr. Morris's ability, but urged in 
objection to him his practice of speaking irrever- 
ently of the Christian religion, and said that in his 
experience he had not found men who were lack- 
ing in religious sentiment trustworthy in ordinary 
affairs ; and that for this reason he had never put 
confidence in General Arnold or recommended him 
for promotion in the public service. 

Although Mr. Sherman's religion was of a de- 
cidedly practical character, he was very fond of the 
metaphysics of theology. The only writings of 
his on this subject which have been preserved, are 
confined to the last four years of his life, while he 
was a member of Congress. They display the 
same acuteness and good sense which characterize 
his political writings and speeches. They also 
show great familiarity with the Bible, of which he 
was a constant student It was his custom to pur- 
chase a Bible at the commencement of every ses- 
sion of Congress, to peruse it daily, and to present 
it to one of his children on his return home. 

During Mr. Sherman's connection with the 
White Haven Church, its creed was twice changed, 
once in 1776, and again in 1788. Each time it 
became briefer, simpler, and more like the creeds 
of Congregational Churches of the present day. 
The following confession of faith, in the handwrit- 
ing of Mr. Sherman, was doubtless prepared by 



272 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN^. 

him at the time of the formation of the creed of 
1 788 ; and seems to have been used by the person 
or committee who drew up that creed. 

CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

I believe that there is one only living and true 
God, existing in three persons, the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance 
equal in power and glory. That the scriptures of 
the old and new testaments are a revelation from 
God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may 
glorify and enjoy him. That God has foreordained 
whatsoever comes to pass, so as thereby he is not 
the author or approver of sin. That he creates all 
things, and preserves and governs all creatures and 
all their actions, in a manner perfectly consistent 
with the freedom of will in moral agents, and the 
usefulness of means. That he made man at first 
perfectly holy, that the first man sinned, and as he 
was the public head of his posterity, they all be- 
came sinners in consequence of his first transgres- 
sion, are wholly indisposed to that which is good 
and inclined to evil, and on account of sin are 
liable to all the miseries of this life, to death, and 
to the pains of hell forever. I believe that God 
having elected some of mankind to eternal life, did 
send his own son to become man, die in the room 
and stead of sinners, and thus to lay a foundation 
for the offer of pardon and salvation to all man- 
kind, so as all may be saved who are willing to 
accept the gospel offer : Also by his special grace 
and spirit, to regenerate, sanctify and enable to 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 2/3 

persevere in holiness, all who shall be saved ; and 
to procure in consequence of their repentance and 
faith in himself their justification by virtue of his 
atonement as the only meritorious cause. I be- 
lieve a visible church to be a congregation of those 
who make a credible profession of their faith in 
Christ, and obedience to him, joined by the bond 
of the covenant. 

That a church of Christ hath power to choose 
its own officers, to admit members, and to admin- 
ister discipline upon offenders according to the 
rules of Christ, either by admonition or excommu- 
nication. I believe that the sacraments of the new 
testament are baptism and the Lord's supper, that 
baptism is a sign and seal of engrafting into Christ, 
of a participation of his benefits, and of the obliga- 
tion of the subject to be the Lord's. That in the 
Lord's supper the worthy receivers are by faith 
made partakers of all the benefits of Christ, to 
their growth in grace. I believe that the souls of 
believers are at their death made perfectly holy, 
and immediately taken to glory : that at the end of 
this world there will be a resurrection of the dead, 
and a final judgment of all mankind, when the 
righteous shall be publickly acquitted by Christ the 
Judge and admitted to everlasting life and glory, and 
the wicked be sentenced to everlasting punishment. 

In the early part of 1790, a correspondence took 
place between Roger Sherman and Rev. Justus 
Mitchell, who married a daughter of Mr. Sher- 
man's brother Josiah, on the question of moral 
and natural inability. In Mr. Sherman's letter 

18 



274 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMANS. 

occurs the following passage on moral good and 
evil, which gives a clearer statement as to his belief 
on these matters than is contained in his Confes- 
sion of Faith. 

"I suppose that moral good or evil consists 
not in dormant principles, but voluntary exer- 
cises, that regeneration simply considered is not a 
moral virtue, but the holy exercises that flow from 
it are — and on the other hand no propensities in 
animal nature are in themselves sinful, if not in- 
dulged contrary to law, that moral good consists 
in right exercises of the natural powers and prin- 
ciples of the soul, in settling the affections on 
right objects &c. and moral evil in placing the 
affections on wrong objects. And mankind hav- 
ing the power of free agency are justly account- 
able for the exercise of their natural powers, and 
that any indisposition to do what they know to be 
their duty can be no excuse for not doing it." 

In 1789, Mr. Sherman published in New Haven 
a sermon written by himself, entitled " A short 
sermon on the duty of self-examination prepara- 
tory to receiving the Lord's Supper, with an Ap- 
pendix containing extracts from Richard Baxter's 
works." A copy of this sermon is in the library 
of Yale College. President Stiles in his Diary 
speaks of it as "A well and judiciously written 
sermon." In a letter to Dr. H. Williams, Decem- 
ber 17, 1 791, Mr. Sherman states his reasons 
for publishing that sermon, and gives his views 
on the extracts from Richard Baxter, relating to 
infant baptism, contained in the Appendix to that 
sermon. His conclusion is that none can be en- 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 275 

titled to spiritual or saving blessings on account 
of their infant baptism, or their relation to be- 
lieving parents, unless when they arrive at the age 
of discretion they exercise personal faith and holi- 
ness; and that they cannot be entitled to adult 
membership in the church without a credible pro- 
fession of these virtues. 

In the year 1790, Mr. Sherman had a corre- 
spondence with Dr. Samuel Hopkins on the the- 
ory of " disinterested submission,'* or " the duty of 
man to be willing to give up his eternal interest 
for the glory of God, and the general good." Dr. 
Hopkins adduces, in support of the affirmative of 
this proposition, two arguments. 

First. If it is the duty of man, as is conceded, 
to give up his temporal interest for the glory of 
God, it must be his duty to give up his eternal 
interest for the same cause. 

To this Mr. Sherman replies that God does not 
command us to give up our eternal interest for his 
glory, but, on the contrary, urges us to endure the 
ills of this life in view of the rewards of the life to 
come. 

He might have added that the sufferings of the 
righteous, in this life are entirely different in kind 
from the sufferings in the future life of the finally 
impenitent. The former are independent of the 
sufferer's will ; they come upon him from without 
and do not affect his spiritual nature. The latter 
are the natural outcome of a sinful nature, — the 
fruits of the sufferer's voluntary wrong-doing. 

Second. Dr. Hopkins' second argument is to 
this effect. It is for the glory of God and the 



2/6 THE LIFE OF HOGER SffERMAAT. 

general good, that some men should sin and suffer 
endless punishment. If it be as necessary that we 
should sin and suffer, in order to answer the same 
end, we must be willing that this should take place, 
if we love God with all our hearts, and our neigh- 
bor as ourselves. 

To this Mr. Sherman replies that this doctrine 
involves in it this absurdity, that a person ought 
to be willing to be fixed in a state of eternal enmity 
to God, from a principle of supreme love to him. 

In reference to the glory of God, Mr. Sherman 
says : " His goodness is his glory, and that is dis- 
played or manifested in his doing good." In illus- 
tration of this truth he cites the striking passage 
from Exod. xxxiii. i8, 19, where Moses in the 
mount asks for a revelation of God's glory, and 
the Lord replies, " I will make my goodness pass 
before thee." 

Dr. Hopkins cites, in support of his view, the 
language of Paul, Rom. ix. 3, where he says he 
could wish himself accursed from Christ for his 
brethren. To which Mr. Sherman replies that 
this evidently is not to be understood literally, 
but was only a strong way of stating his love for 
his brethren. Besides, he adds, every wish of a 
good man is not a good wish. Moses, in a like 
expression, Exod. xxxii. 32, seems not fully to 
have met with the divine approbation, as appears 
by the answer, verse 33 : " And the Lord said unto 
Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him 
will I blot out of my book." 

These letters were published in 1889 by the 
American Antiquarian Society, with an introduction 



RELIGIOUS Opinions. 277 

on Hopkinsianism by Rev. Andrew P. Peabody. 
Mr. Sherman's good sense contrasts most favorably 
with the scholastic subtleties, in which the theolo- 
gian loses himself. In a letter, dated May 7, 1895, 
from Dr. Edwards A. Park, the peculiar views of 
Dr. Hopkins on this subject are thus referred to. 

" I have always heard that Sherman agreed with 
the elder President Edwards in theological doc- 
trine, but disapproved of Hopkins' theory concern- 
ing 'disinterested submission.' The majority of 
the Edwardeans disapproved of Hopkins' theory 
on the subject. He was very injudicious in his 
style of treating the topic. Still, Dr. William E. 
Channing, who was the grandson of Mr. EUery, 
always spoke with the highest respect of Mr. 
Hopkins, and in particular of Hopkins' views 
on * disinterested submission.' Professor Frederic 
Hedge spoke in the same manner, for the views of 
Hopkins were those of the old Quietists. It is a 
singular fact that Thomas Hooker of Hartford, 
whose statue adorns the Connecticut Capitol, was 
more Hopkinsian than Hopkins himself" 

The following correspondence between Roger 
Sherman and Dr. Witherspoon may properly find 
a place here, as the argument employed is of a 
biblical character. 

New Haven, July loth, 1788. 

Sir, — I herewith send you Mr. Trumbull's ap- 
peal to the public respecting divorce. Upon read- 
ing of which you will see that he supposes divorce 
is not lawful in any case except for incontinency. . 



2/8 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

The law of this State admits of divorce, for 
fraudulent contract, adultery, or three years wilful 
desertion and total neglect of duty. 

Herein it agrees with the Westminster confes- 
sion of Faith article 24th. The late President 
Edwards was also of the same opinion, as appears 
by the enclosed note extracted from his writings. 
As the subject is important and interesting to the 
public as well as to individuals, I should esteem 
it a favor to know your opinion respecting it. 

It is evident that those who admit wilful deser- 
tion as a sufficient ground for divorce, found their 
opinion on i Cor. 7: 15, which they suppose con- 
tains an apostolic direction in a case not mentioned 
by our Lord in the Evangelists, and perfectly con- 
sistent with what he has said on the subject. They 
' suppose that what is contained in the Evangelists, 
and referred to in Cor. 7: 10, 11 as said by the 
Lord, imports no more than that no separation or 
voluntary departing or putting away except for 
incontinency, is lawful, or if the wife should accept 
a bill of divorce from the husband, and thereupon 
voluntarily leave him, it would not dissolve the 
bond of matrimony, and either party that should 
marry another in consequence of such a separation 
would be guilty of adultery. But in case there 
should be a wilful desertion of one party, either 
by going away and leaving the other, or by cruelty 
and abuse compelling the other to go away, this 
conduct obstinately persisted in, so as totally to 
deprive the other of all the benefits and comforts 
of the marriage state; the innocent party, after 
using all proper means to reclaim the other, and 



RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 279 

waiting a reasonable time, and there appearing no 
prospect of a reconciliation, may, upon application 
to public authority be lawfully declared free from 
the bond of marriage, and be at liberty to marry 
another. This distinction they suppose is evident 
from what the apostle says in the 12th verse, " To 
the rest speak I, not the Lord." This was there- 
fore a new case on the same subject, about which 
our Lord had not given any direction. As Mr 
Trumbull has fully stated the arguments in support 
of one side of the question, I thought it might be 
proper to give these few hints of what has been 
said in support of the other side, and submit the 
whole to your consideration. I am Sir with great 
respect and esteem, 

Your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

Princeton, July 25, 1788. 

Dear Sir, — I received a few days ago your 
favor of the loth inst. with copy of Mr Trumbull's 
Discourse relating to Divorce. I have read it over 
with attention and am fully of opinion with Dr 
Edwards that the declaration of our Saviour agjainst 
frivolous divorces ought not to be so interpreted 
that it should be impossible to liberate an innocent 
party any other way. As all contracts are mutual 
and this of marriage in a particular manner, an 
obstinate and perpetual refusal of performance on 
one side seems in the nature of things to liberate 
the other. Therefore the Protestant Churches in 
general and ours in particular have always admitted 
wilful or obstinate desertion as a cause of divorce, 



28o THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

and have supposed the passage of the Apostle 
Paul to be a confirmation of this by a particular 
instance. This ought not to be considered as any 
contradiction to our Saviour's declaration ; on the 
contrary it may be considered as falling under it 
for in the law of obstinate desertion adultery may 
be very justly questioned in law, as the person can- 
not be supposed to desert in order to live the life 
of a monk or nun, but from alienated affection, 
especially as in most cases of this kind they with- 
draw themselves out of the reach of observation or 
proof. 

I think Mr. Trumbull has not proved his theo- 
retical point, but if he has given a just account of 
facts it would appear that either your laws are lax 
upon the subject or the Courts have been lax in 
the execution of them, but this must depend upon 
the fairness and fulness of his representation, 
which I cannot judge of with certainty in my 
situation. Remember me to your neighbor, Dr 
Stiles. I have the honor to be. Sir, 

Your most humble and obedient servant, 

Jno. Witherspoon. 

Dr. Edwards, in speaking of Mr. Sherman as a 
theologian, remarked that, in the general course of 
a long and intimate acquaintance, he was mate- 
rially instructed by his observations on the princi- 
pal subjects of doctrinal and practical divinity. 



LAST DAYS, 28 1 



CHAPTER Xm. 

LAST DAYS. 

In the 4th volume of the "American Literary 
Magazine," June, 1849, is an article on Roger 
Sherman, by Professor Denison Olmsted, of Yale 
College, in which the following account of his 
death is given: 

" On the 23rd day of July, 1793, he finished his 
eventful career, at his own quiet residence in New 
Haven, where, most of all, he was beloved and 
honored. He was cheered and sustained in the 
last conflict by the power of that religion which 
he had early embraced, and whose precepts and 
duties he had uniformly illustrated by a long life 
of virtue and usefulness. He had enjoyed almost 
uninterrupted health through life, and at the age 
of seventy was able to mount his horse with the 
agility of youth, and to ride thirty or forty miles 
without fatigue. But, as a mound which has long 
withstood the pressure of the floods unmoved and 
seemingly immovable, yields at last to the silent 
influences that have been insensibly infusing into 
its structure the elements of decay and weakness, 
and is all at once borne away ; so his constitution 
that seemed equal to 'the severest labors, suddenly 
failed, and he sunk into the arms of death. His 
last effort was in attempting to lead the family de- 



282 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

votions : but the accents of prayer died away on 
his lips, before the service was completed. Still 
his mind was serene, and when asked by his 
daughter if he was ready to die, he looked up 
with that sweet expression which many have seen 
and felt in the * dying smile,' and replied, * Father, 
not my will, but thine be done/ " 

The following letters from Josiah Stebbins to 
Roger Minot Sherman give further particulars of 
the last sickness of Roger Sherman and an account 
of the funeral. 

New Haven, Sunday Evening. 

Dear Sir ; I know not that I can tell you any- 
thing of note except with regard to the good Squire 
Sherman. The account you heard of him was 
perfectly just. No disease seems to be upon him 
but a biliousness to which I understand he has 
been subject, but he is debilitated to such a degree 
that as I was this evening told in the family, he is 
unable to turn himself in bed — as is — in his case, 
he is unusually drowsy, sleeps almost the whole 
day and night — and in a word is by all looked 
on as a man beyond a possibility of recovering. 
I have not seen him but shall not be surprised if 
he bid the world adieu in a few days. . . . Respects 
to Mr and Mrs Strong and 

Yours as usual, 

Josiah Stebbins. 

[On back.] Monday morning Esq. Sherman 

declines, is weaker, no other alteration. 

In haste J. S. 

July 21, 1793. 



LAST DAYS. 283 

New Haven, Monday Morning, 5 Aug. 

Dear Sir : You desired me to write in case of 
the good Squire's death. I neglected it supposing 
that you would doubtless hear it as soon as I could 
convey you a letter. The funeral was attended on 
Thursday with the tokens of respect which the ob- 
ject of them merited. The city officers attended 
as mourners. Pres. Stiles (if I did not misunder- 
stand) prayed at the house. The procession then 
moved to Doct. Edwards meeting house where a 
sermon with the usual prayers was delivered by 
Doct. Edwards, and to do the Doct. Justice he 
preached better than I expected to hear him, and 
seemed to keep almost free from moral obligatiotty 
cause and effect &c. The procession then moved 
to the grave, four bells tolling in etlternate strokes. 
The collection was the largest I ever knew on such 
an occasion — unavoidable haste prevents my add- 
ing another word but that 

I am yours, 

JOSIAH StEBBINS. 

The following extract from the Diary of Ezra 
Stiles, President of Yale College, gives an account 
of the death and funeral of Mr. Sherman, and an 
estimate of his character. 

** I793> July 23, at about seven o'clock, or 
about sunsetting, a bright luminary set in New 
Haven: the Hon. Roger Sherman Esq. died at 
seven o'clock. . . . He was formed for thinking 
and acting, but law and politics were peculiarly 
adapted to his genius. He was an admirer of 



284 ^^-^ ^^^^ OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

VatteU's Laws of Nature and Nations. He was 
for many years Treasurer of Y. C. and a friend to 
its interests and to its being and continuing in the 
hands of the Clergy, whom he judged the most 
proper to have the superintending of a religious 
as well as a scientific college. . . . He was ex- 
emplary for piety and serious religion, was a good 
Divine, once printed a well and judiciously written 
sermon of his own composition, though never 
preached. He was far from all enthusiasm. He 
was calm, sedate, and very discerning and judi- 
cious. He went though all the grades of public 
life and grew in them all and filled every office 
with propriety, ability and though not with showy 
brilliancy, yet with that dignity which arises from 
doing every thing perfectly right. In no part of 
his employment has he displayed his intrinsic 
merit and acquired that glory so much as in Con- 
gress. He then became almost oracular for the 
deep sagacity, wisdom, and weight of his counsels. 
Though of no elocution he was respected and 
listened to with attention; and was successful in 
carrying the points he labored. He was an ex- 
traordinary man, a venerable uncorrupted patriot 

"July 25. The funeral of the Mayor was at- 
tended. The Students and Tutors of the Univer- 
sity formed the head of the procession, then the 
two city sheriffs preceded the city officers, the 
common council, four aldermen, two justices, two 
members of Congress, and a Judge of the Superior 
Courtv the clergy, eight ministers, the bearers and 
corpse (no pall bearers), mourners and citizens, 
male and female, a large concourse. Repairing 



LAST DAYS, 285 

to Dr. Edwards' meeting house a sermon was 
preached by Dr. Edwards from Ps. 46: i. Then 
the procession moved from the meeting house to 
the grave. Dr. Dana spoke at the grave, as I had 
prayed at the house before the funeral. Every 
part was conducted with respectful decency and 
solemnity." 

The following obituary notice was published in 
the " Connecticut Journal," July 31, 1793. 

"New Haven, July 31. On the 23 instant died 
at his house in this city the Honorable Roger 
Sherman Esqr. . . . [account of his life]. It is 
worthy to remark that though he sustained so 
many offices in the civil government both of the 
State and of the United States, to all which he was 
promoted by the free suffrages of his fellow citi- 
zens, and in the most of which he could not with- 
out a new election continue longer than a year, 
and in the rest not longer than two, three or four 
years; and although for all these offices there 
were as there always are in popular governments 
many competitors at every election, yet Mr. 
Sherman was never removed from any one of 
them, but by promotion, or rendering the offices 
incompatible with each other. Nor with the re- 
striction just mentioned did he ever lose his elec- 
tion to any office to which he had once been 
elected, except his election as a Representative of 
the town in the General Assembly; which office 
we all know is almost constantly shifting. This 
shows to how great a degree and how invariably 
he possessed the confidence of his fellow citizens. 



286 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

They found by long experience that both his abili- 
ties and his integrity merited their confidence. To 
have been constantly employed in the public ser- 
vice for forty-eight years, to have sustained so 
many and so important public offices, and to have 
sustained them all with honor and reputation ; to 
have maintained an amiable character in every 
private relation ; to have been from early youth 
an ornament to Christianity, and to have died in 
a good old age in the full possession of all his 
honors, and of his powers both of body and mind, 
is a rare attainment, and as to him at least an 
happy juncture of circumstances." 

The following inscription is recorded upon the 
tablet which covers his tomb. 

"In memory of 
THE HON. ROGER SHERMAN, Esq. 

MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN, 

AND SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES. 

HE WAS BORN AT NEWTOWN, IN MASSACHUSETTS, 

APRIL I9TH, 1 72 1. 

AND DIED IN NEW HAVEN, JULY 23RD, A. D. 1 793, 

AGED LXXII. 

Possessed of a strong, clear, penetrating mind, 

and singular perseverance, 

He became the self-taught scholar, 

eminent for jurisprudence and policy. 

l^e was nineteen years an assistant, 

and twenty-three years a judge, of the superior court, 

in high reputation. 

He was a delegate in the first congress. 

Signed the glorious act of Independence, 

and many years displayed superior talents and ability 

in the national legislature. 



LAST DAYS. 287 

He was a member of the general convention, 

approved the federal constitution, 

and served his country, with fidelity and honor, 

in the House of Representatives, 

and in the Senate of the United States. 

He was a man of approved integrity ; 

a cool, discerning Judge ; 

a prudent, sagacious politician ; 

a true, faithful, and firm, patriots 

He ever adorned 

the profession of Christianity 

which he made in youth ; 

and, distinguished through life 

for public usefulness, 

died in the prospect 

of a blessed immortality." 



288 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

In reviewing the life of Roger Sherman we are 
impressed, not merely with the length and variety 
of his public services, but with the number of im- 
portant offices which he held at the same time. 
From 1755, when he was chosen to represent the 
town of New Milford in the Colonial Assembly of 
Connecticut, to his death in 1793, a period of 
thirty-eight years, he was, with the exception of 
two intervals of two or three years each, continu- 
ally in the public service. At first, he was, for a few 
years, a member of the Court of Common Pleas, 
and then, for twenty-three years in succession, he 
was a Judge of the Superior Court. After a few 
years' service in the lower House of the Connecti- 
cut Assembly, he was chosen a member of the up- 
per House, where he was kept, by annual election, 
for nineteen successive years. He was for eight 
years a member of the Continental Congress, and 
during two years of this period he was a member of 
the Connecticut Council of Safety. He was a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional .Convention of 1787, and 
from the formation of the national government in 
1789 to his death in 1793, he was a member of Con- 
gress, — for the first two years a Representative, and 
for the last two a Senator. From 1784 to his 
death, he was Mayor of the City of New Haven. 



CONCLUSIOl/, 289 

Many of these offices he held at the same time. 
During the nineteen years that he was a member 
of the upper House of the Connecticut Assembly, 
he was also a judge of the Superior Court ; during 
eight of these years he was a delegate in the Con- 
tinental Congress ; and for two years that he was 
a delegate in Congress, he was a member of the 
Council of Safety, and the last year that he was a 
delegate in Congress he was Mayor of the City of 
New Haven. 

To have held so many, and so important offices, 
for so long a time, shows the high regard which the 
people of Connecticut had for his abilities and in- 
tegrity. But it was not merely by the citizens of 
his own State that he was held in high esteem. In 
the Continental Congress, he took rank at once 
with the ablest men from all parts of the country, 
and was placed on the most important committees. 
He formed intimate friendships with the great re- 
volutionary leaders of the north and the south, — 
with John Adams, and Samuel Adams, and Richard 
Henry Lee. He took an active and influential 
part in the debates of the various deliberative as- 
semblies with which he was connected. And yet 
he was utterly destitute of oratorical graces. In- 
deed, it was something more than that. His man- 
ner seems to have been the personification of 
awkwardness. John Adams, an enthusiastic ad- 
mirer of Mr. Sherman, in his Diary, under date of 
September 15, 1775, thus describes his style of 
speaking : — 

"Sherman's air is the reverse of grace; there 
cannot be a more striking contrast to beautiful 

19 



290 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

action than the motion of his hands; generally 
he stands upright, with his hands before him, the 
fingers of his left hand clenched into a fist, and 
the wrist of it grasped with his right. But he has 
a clear head and sound judgment; but when he 
moves a hand in anything like action, Hogarth's 
genius could not have invented a motion more 
opposite to grace ; it is stiffness and awkwardness 
itself, rigid as starched linen or buckram; awk- 
ward as a junior bachelor or a sophomore." 

It was a common saying in New Haven, that 
when Mr. Sherman was interested in speaking, his 
gesture was like that of a shoemaker drawing a 
thread. 

And yet singularly enough, the greatest admirers 
of this awkward man, were the foremost orators 
of their day. In Henry Howe's Historical Collec- 
tions of Virginia, he says, in speaking of Patrick 
Henry that, — " When a member of the Continen- 
tal Congress, he said the first men in that body 
were Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Roger 
Sherman: and, later in life, Roger Sherman and 
George Mason [were] the greatest statesmen he 
ever knew." 

John Adams in a letter to his wife, dated March 
1 6, 1777, speaks of Sherman as "that old puri- 
tan, as honest as an angel, and as firm in the cause 
of American Independence as Mt. Atlas." In his 
old age, Mr. Adams wrote the following letter con- 
cerning Roger Sherman to the editor of Sanderson's 
Biographies : — 



CONCLUSION. 291 

QuiNCY, November 19th, 1822. 

Dear Sir : I have received your obliging favor 
of the 15 th instant. It relates to a subject dear to 
my memory and my heart. The honorable Roger 
Sherman was one of the most cordial friends which 
I ever had in my life. Destitute of all literary and 
scientific education, but such as he acquired by 
his own exertions, he was one of the most sensible 
men in the world. The clearest head and steadi- 
est heart. It is praise enough to say, that the late 
Chief Justice Ellsworth told me he had made Mr 
Sherman his model in his youth. Indeed I never 
knew two men more alike, except that the Chief 
Justice had the advantage of a liberal education, 
and somewhat more extensive reading. 

Mr Sherman was born in the State of Massa- 
chusetts, and was one of the soundest and strong- 
est pillars of the revolution. I am, sir. 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

John Adams. 

Fisher Ames the leader of the Federal party in 
the House of Representatives during the adminis- 
tration of Washington and the most accomplished 
orator in that body, was accustomed to say, — 
" That if he happened to be out of his seat when 
a subject was discussed, and came in when the 
question was about to be taken, he always felt safe 
in voting as Mr. Sherman did ; for he always voted 
right- 
Similar tributes were paid to Mr. Sherman by 
other eminent men. On one occasion Mr. JefTer- 



292 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN-. 

son accompanied Dr. Spring of Newburyport to 
the halls of Congress, and pointing out Mr. Sher- 
man, said, — " That is Mr. Sherman of Connecticut, 
a man who never said a foolish thing in his life." 
Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina, who himself 
had a great reputation for wisdom, once remarked 
to Mr. Reed of Marblehead, that " Roger Sherman 
had more common sense than any man he ever 
knew." Jonathan Edwards the younger, one of 
the most eminent divines which this country has 
produced, was accustomed to speak of Roger 
Sherman as "my great and good friend. Sena- 
tor Sherman." Dr. Dwight, when instructing the 
senior class at Yale College, observed that Mr. 
Sherman was remarkable for not speaking in de- 
bate without suggesting something new and im- 
portant, which frequently gave a different character 
to the discussion. Thomas Jefferson wrote the 
following letter concerning Mr. Sherman to Roger 
S. Baldwin. 

MoNTiCELLO, March 9th, 1822. 

Sir, I have duly received your letter of Febru- 
ary 22nd, and am sorry it is in my power to furnish 
no other materials for the biography of your very 
respectable grandfather, than such as are very gen- 
erally known. I served with him in the old con- 
gress in the years 1775 and 1776: He was a very 
able and logical debater in that body, steady in 
the principles of the revolution, always at the post 
of duty, much employed in the business of com- 
mittees, and particularly, was of the committee of 
Doctor Franklin, Mr J. Adams, Mr Livingston, 



CONCLUSION, 293 

and myself, for preparing the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. Being much my senior in years, our 
intercourse was chiefly in the line of our duties. 
I had a very great respect for him, and now learn, 
with pleasure, that the public are likely to be put 
into possession of the particulars of his useful life. 

I pray you accept the assurance of my great 
respect. 

Thomas Jefferson.^ 

The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 
published in 181 1, vol. I, No. i, " A statistical ac- 
count of the City of New Haven," by Timothy 
Dwight, President of Yale College, which contains 
the following estimate of Roger Sherman. 

*' Mr. Sherman possessed a powerful mind : and 
habits of industry which no difficulties could dis- 
courage, and no toil impair. In early life he be- 
gan to apply himself with inextinguishable zeal to 
the acquisition of knowledge. In this pursuit, al- 
though he was always actively engaged in business, 

1 Mr. E. P. Whipple, in his essay on ** Daniel Webster as a 
Master of English Style," introductory to his collection of the 
" Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster," says : — 

" There is no word which the novelists, satirists, philanthropic 
reformers, and Bohemians of our days have done so much to dis- 
credit and make disrespectable to the heart and the imagination, 
as the word * respectable.' Webster always uses it as a term of 
eulogy." In illustration of this statement, Mr. Whipple quotes 
the following passage from Mr. Webster's oration on the com- 
pletion of the Bunker Hill Monument. " I would cheerfully put 
the question to day to the intelligence of Europe and the world, 
what character of the century, upon the whole, stands out in the 
relief of history most pure, most respectable, most sublime ; and 
I doubt not that by a suffrage approaching to unanimity, the 
answer would be, Washington." 



294 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ROGER SHERMAN, 

he Spent more hours than most of those who are 
professedly students. In his progress he became 
extensively acquainted with mathematical science, 
with natural philosophy, with moral and metaphys- 
ical philosophy, with history, logic and theology. 
As a lawyer and a statesman he was eminent. 
The late Judge IngersoU, who has been already 
mentioned, once observed to me, that, in his 
opinion, the views which Mr. Sherman formed of 
political subjects, were more profound, just, and 
comprehensive, than those of almost any other 
man with whom he had been acquainted on this 
continent. His mind was remarkably clear and 
penetrating and more than that of almost any 
other man, looked from the beginning of a sub- 
ject to the end. Nothing satisfied him but proof; 
or where that was impossible, the predominant 
probability which equally controls the conduct 
of a wise man. He had no fashionable opinions, 
and could never be persuaded to swim with the 
tide. Independent of everything but argument, 
he judged for himself: and rarely failed to con- 
vince others that he judged right. 

" As a man, as a patriot, and as a citizen, Mr. 
Sherman left behind him an unspotted name. 
Profoundly versed in theology, he held firmly the 
doctrines of the Reformation. Few men under- 
stood them so well : and few were equally able to 
defend them. What he believed he practiced." 

The following memorandum prepared by Hon. 
Wm. M. Evarts, August 30, 1893, contains two 
very interesting estimates of Mr. Sherman. 

"Among my acquaintances at the Union Club 



CONCLUSION, 295 

was Isaac Bell who lived to a great age dying in 
i860, ninety-three years old. Two of his sons, 
Isaac Bell, Jr. and Edward R. Bell were quite inti- 
mate friends of mine and members of the same 
club. Isaac Bell, Sr. retained his faculties of 
memory and intelligence through this advanced 
age, and from my intimate relations with his sons I 
became acquainted with their father. One day 
when talking with him about events in the early 
history of our government, it occurred to me that 
as he was some twenty-two or twenty-three years 
of age at the time of Washington's inauguration in 
New York, he might probably have seen my grand- 
father, Roger Sherman, who as a member of the 
new government was conspicuous among the at- 
tendance at that ceremony. If this should be so, as 
Mr. BelFs memory was accurate and retentive, I 
thought I might learn something of the impression 
made upon a casual observer of the inauguration. 
Mr. Bell replied that he did not see the proceed- 
ings of the inauguration as he was then absent 
from New York and, as I now think, in China. 
He then recurred to the subject by saying * Was 
Roger Sherman your grandfather?' and on my re- 
plying he said, * I never saw Roger Sherman but 
I can tell you something that Theodore Sedgwick 
said to me about him. Mr. Sedgwick said, " Roger 
Sherman was the man of the selectest wisdom that 
I ever knew. No law or part of law that Mr. 
Sherman favored failed to be enacted."' I was 
struck with the peculiar epithet of * selectest ' and 
it impressed me that Mr. Sedgwick's words had 
been remembered and repeated by Mr. Bell. 



296 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

" In the latter part of General Scott's life, though 
quite before the outbreak of the civil war, I was 
thrown very agreeably in company with the general 
and occasionally with one or two other friends, as 
well as at larger dinners, I listened to very interest- 
ing narratives and comments from him about the 
men and events of our Revolutionary and follow- 
ing periods. On one occasion when two or three 
of us were dining together with General Scott at 
the Union Club, he made the following reference to 
Roger Sherman in relation to the actors in the 
Revolution and the formation of the new govern- 
ment. He said, * I think Roger Sherman is en- 
titled to be considered as the fourth man in these 
transactions embracing the whole revolutionary 
period and the formation of the new government. 
The only three that can be placed before him are 
Washington, John Adams, and ' — the third whose 
name I cannot completely recall as to whether it 
was Patrick Henry or Madison. He added, * I 
leave aside the name of Jefferson as his participa- 
tion in these events made so famous by his author- 
ship of the Declaration of Independence, did not 
show as large and continuous connection with the 
whole period to which I am referring as these four 
men whom I have named.' General Scott showed 
very thorough acquaintance with all the important 
events in the whole series, and his comments upon 
the different actors in them showed that he had 
given these matters much reflection." 

The estimate of Mr. Sherman by President Stiles 
has been given in the chapter next preceding this. 

As Mr. Sherman was destitute of those shining 



CONCLUSION, 297 

qualities which are essential to the success of the 
orator, the enquiry naturally arises, wherein did his 
strength consist? The opinions of his contempora- 
ries which we have just cited show that the quality 
which most impressed them was his good sense. 
Ordinarily we think of this as a valuable quality in 
the practical affairs of life, but not as one which 
elevates a man to the highest rank. But in Roger 
Sherman the quality of good sense was so highly 
developed that it resembled genius. He had a 
clearer perception than most men of the rights and 
duties of men in civil society, and of the best 
means of securing the one, and enforcing the 
other. He had a remarkable sagacity in judging, 
not only what measures were best for a community, 
but what the people were willing to bear. His in- 
fluence over men was greatly strengthened by his 
strong sense of justice ; and his remarkable success 
in so often securing the adoption of the measures 
he advocated was owing to the fact that he was be- 
lieved to be, not only a wise man, but a wise man 
striving to do right. 

Another source of his power, was a self-control, 
and evenness of temper, and catholicity of spirit, 
which enabled him to keep on good terms with 
those from whom he differed, even on theological 
questions. 

These qualities were seen in their highest mani- 
festation, and in their most beneficent effects, in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1787. By his 
firm but conciliatory spirit he carried through that 
great compromise in reference to representation in 
the two Houses of Congress, without which no 



298 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAI^, 

constitution would have been formed, or, if formed, 
would have been adopted. 

Mr. Sherman remarked to his family that, before 
he had attained the age of twenty-one, he learned 
to control and govern his passions ; and this im- 
portant achievement he ascribed, in a considerable 
degree, to the perusal of Dr. Watts's excellent 
treatise on the subject. His passions were natu- 
rally strong, but he obtained such a mastery over 
them, that he was habitually calm, sedate, and 
self-governed. 

Many anecdotes are related of his self-control. 
At family prayers, he boxed the ears of one of the 
children who was making a disturbance. There- 
upon his mother, whose mind had become en- 
feebled by age, walked across the room, and boxed 
his ears, saying, " You strike your child, and I 
strike mine." The worship went on as if nothing 
had happened. 

A farmer called at the house one day to sell 
some cider. Mr. Sherman having made some en- 
quiry about the quality of the cider, the farmer 
stormed and swore at a furious rate. Finding Mr. 
Sherman perfectly unmoved at his tirade, he looked 
up at him in astonishment, exclaiming, " The Devil 
himself could n*t provoke you." 

His house was opposite the college grounds, 
and he was accustomed to sit at his desk, by the 
front window. One day a roguish student, on the 
college grounds, with a piece of looking-glass 
flashed the sunlight in the old gentleman's eyes. 
Mr. Sherman quietly rose, closed the blind, and 
resumed his work. 



coNCLUSio^r. 299 

An heirloom silver tankard had been lost or 
stolen when he was absent, and the family hardly 
dared to tell him of it. When they gravely im- 
parted the news, he replied, " How much anxiety 
and trouble is saved. We shall have no more 
trouble putting it away so carefully every night." 

Mr. Sherman had none of that foolish pride 
which makes a man ashamed of having been en- 
gaged in a lowly occupation in early life, or of 
that other pride, equally foolish, which leads a 
prosperous man who has risen from obscurity, to 
boast of the contrast between his early and his 
later career. On one occasion, as a member of a 
committee in the Continental Congress for investi- 
gating frauds in army contracts, he showed so 
much practical knowledge about the manufacture 
of shoes that he was asked how he acquired it. 
He replied, ** I was formerly a shoe-maker my- 
self." His pastor and friend, during the last 
twenty-four years of his life, Dr. Edwards, said of 
him, "With all his elevation, and all his honors, 
he was not at all lifted up, but was perfectly un- 
moved." He was profoundly grateful to his fellow- 
citizens for the honors they conferred upon him, 
but he seemed to value them chiefly for the en- 
larged opportunities they afforded him of serving 
the public. 

Dr. Edwards, in the sermon which he preached 
at Mr. Sherman's funeral, thus speaks of his polit- 
ical services : " For usefulness and excellence in 
this line, he was qualified, not only by his acute 
discernment and sound judgment but especially 
by his knowledge of human nature. He had a 



300 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

happy talent of judging what was feasible and 
what was not feasible, or what men would bear 
and what they would not bear in government. 
And he had a rare talent of prudence, or of timing 
and adapting his measures to the attainment of his 
end. By this talent, by his perseverance and his 
indefatigable application, together with his general 
good sense and known integrity, he seldom failed 
in carrying every point in government which he 
undertook, and which he esteemed important to 
the public good." 

One of the most interesting things about Mr. 
Sherman is that fairness and openness of mind 
which kept him fresh and vigorous to the end. 
With each re-perusal of the debates in the Consti- 
tutional Convention of 1787, 1 have been more and 
more impressed with the progress he made in the 
course of those debates. He entered the Conven- 
tion as a strong confederate : he left it as a firm 
nationalist. Although sixty-eight years of age 
when he entered the House of Representatives, 
the speeches he made on the tariff and the pub- 
lic credit were the best he ever made, and were 
not surpassed by those of any of his fellow- 
members. 

John C. Hamilton, in his " History of the Repub- 
lic," after speaking of the objections to the assump- 
tion of the State debts made by certain members 
of Congress, thus refers to Mr. Sherman's speech 
in reply: "These objections were replied to in a 
very able speech by Roger Sherman. The early 
position held by Sherman in the public estimation 
is shown by the fact that he was appointed one of 



CONCLUSION, 301 

the committee of five members to draw the Decla- 
ration of Independence. In the several Congresses 
elected during the Revolutionary War, he is seen 
to have filled a conspicuous place ; and when that 
body, sinking in importance, confided its duties to 
a committee of the States, he was selected of that 
committee. Chosen a member of the Federal Con- 
vention, his course in that body shows the workings 
of a mind alive to the necessity of an enlargement 
of the powers of the government, but restrained as 
to its organization by the opinions and prejudices 
of the State he represented. In the compromises 
which were adopted between State influence and 
popular rights, his mind advanced with the ad- 
vancing opinions of the convention towards a 
National Government; and though the shackels 
of State opinions were not entirely thrown off", yet 
in all questions touching the great powers of na- 
tional defence, commerce, revenue, public justice, 
his views were broad and explicit. As to the 
debts incurred by the States for the general cause, 
he would have provided, in the Constitution, a 
large and equal rule." 

In the "Life and Writings " of Jared Sparks (Vol. 
I, page 523) is an extract from Mr. Sparks's Jour- 
nal, dated October 5, 1826, in which, giving an 
account of a visit to Ebenezer Baldwin, of Albany, 
he says : " Mr. Baldwin showed me the corre- 
spondence between John Adams and Roger Sher- 
man on a point in the Constitution of the United 
States, particularly that relating to the President's 
negative. It is a rencounter of deep, keen minds, 
and I shall take a copy. Mr. Baldwin has the 



302 THE LIFE OP ROGER SHERMAN. 

originals, being the grandson of Sherman. The 
argument is well sustained on both sides, and in a 
manner particularly characteristic of the two men. 
Adams had the wrong side, and experience has 
shown his objections to be imaginary." In an- 
other passage in the same Journal, Mr. Sparks 
says, " Sherman was a self-taught man, but has 
rarely been excelled in native good sense, sound- 
ness of judgment, singleness of heart, and upright- 
ness of character." 

George Bancroft, in his History of the Consti- 
tution of the United States (Vol. II. pp. 48-50), 
speaking of the members of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1787, says: "Roger Sherman was 
a unique man. No one in the convention had so 
large an experience in legislating for the United 
States. . . . There was in him kindheartedness and 
industry, penetration and close reasoning, an un- 
clouded intellect, superiority to passion, intrepid 
patriotism, solid judgment, and a directness which 
went straight to its end. ... In the convention he 
never made long speeches, but would intuitively 
seize on the turning point of a question, and pre- 
sent it in terse language, which showed his own 
opinion and the strength on which it rested." 

In his " Plea for the Constitution," Mr. Bancroft 
speaks of those " Master-builders of the Constitu- 
tion, Roger Sherman, George Washington, Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney, James Madison, and Alex- 
ander Hamilton." 

No great man was ever more perfectly self-edu- 
cated than Mr. Sherman; but this did not lead 
him to undervalue an academic education. It 



CONCLUSION, 303 

made him prize it the more highly, for he was 
sensible of the difficulties and embarrassments 
which hindered his own progress. He assisted 
his brothers to obtain a collegiate education, and 
four of his own sons were graduated at Yale. Late 
in life, he said that if he were to educate his sons 
again for either of the three professions, he should 
have them give at least one year's study to each 
of the other two. 

Some of the sayings of Mr. Sherman which 
have been preserved illustrate not only his wis- 
dom, but a certain dry humor, not found in his 
speeches or his letters. One we have already 
mentioned, — his proposal to present the tardy 
messenger who brought the news to Congress of 
Burgoyne's surrender, with a pair of spurs. When 
Rhode Island was complaining of the encroach- 
ments of her neighbors, Mr. Sherman observed 
that Rhode Island might annex Connecticut if she 
wished. The Continental Congress voted to build 
a monument at Yorktown, a purpose never ac- 
complished until 1 88 1. Somebody in the first 
Congress complained of the delay. Mr. Sherman 
said, "The vote is the monument." Mr. Sher- 
man used to say that he never liked to decide a 
doubtful or perplexing question without submit- 
ting it for the opinion of some intelligent woman. 
In his last sickness, the friends, having decided 
to have a consultation of physicians, asked him if 
he would object. He replied, with a smile, " No, 
I don't object; only I have noticed that in such 
cases the patient generally dies." When invited 
to make a speech at the opening of a new bridge, 



304 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

— after inspecting it and walking across it he re- 
maked, ** I don't see but it stands steady." 

When a young man, just entering upon a legis- 
lative career, called upon him for advice, Mr. 
Sherman said, " When you are in a minority, talk ; 
when you are in a majority, vote." 

One anecdote about Mr. Sherman has had a 
good deal of currency, but has no foundation in 
fact. It is this, — that John Randolph, provoked 
at something Mr. Sherman said in debate, asked 
him what had become of his leather apron. To 
which Mr. Sherman replied, " Cut it up into moc- 
casins for the descendants of Pocahontas." As 
John Randolph was only twenty years old when 
Mr. Sherman died, and did not enter Congress till 
six years after that event, we shall have to give up 
this anecdote, and we can do so without any sense 
of loss. 

John Randolph did, however, allude to Mr. 
Sherman, in a speech in the House of Represent- 
atives, on February i, 1828, which showed his 
high regard for him. Speaking of the superiority 
in public affairs of men of practical sense over men 
of mere book learning, Mr. Randolph said, " Sir, 
who would make the better leader, in a period of 
great public emergency, — old Roger Sherman, or 
a certain very learned gentleman from New York, 
whom we once had here, who knew everything 
in the world for which man has no occasion, 
and nothing in the world for which man has 
occasion ? " 

Dr. Edwards says of Mr. Sherman, " His per- 
son was tall, unusually erect and well proportioned, 



CONCLUSION. 305 

and his countenance agreeable and manly." His 
portrait shows him to have had a fair complexion, 
blue eyes, and brown hair. 

In private life, though he was naturally reserved 
and of few words, yet in conversation on matters 
of importance he was free and communicative.. 
Judge Jeremiah Smith said of him that ** it was a 
great treat to hear him converse." He was natu- 
rally modest; and this disposition, increased per- 
haps by the deficiencies of his early education, often 
wore the appearance of bashfulness. In large 
companies, it is said, he appeared obviously em- 
barrassed, and his speech was often slow and hesi- 
tating. It was this reserve and bashfulness, joined 
perhaps at times to a certain absent-mindedness, 
which led some persons not well acquainted with 
him to think him aristocratic. 

The liveliest picture that has been preserved of 
Mr. Sherman's habits and manners is the following 
from the Autobiography of Jeremiah Mason, who 
was a law student in the office of Judge Simeon 
Baldwin, at New Haven, about 1789: — 

" I soon went to New Haven, entered Mr. 
Baldwin's office, and lived in his family. Then, as 
at the present time, very little instruction in the 
course of study was given in a private office. I 
spent a year in Mr. Baldwin's office reading pretty 
diligently. My time passed pleasantly ; I had ac- 
cess to very good society. He married a daughter 
of the celebrated Roger Sherman and lived near 
him. He had a family of children, some near my 
age. I was often at the house, and very frequently 
saw Mr. Sherman. His reputation was then at the 



306 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN. 

zenith. His manners, without apparent arrogance, 
were excessively reserved and aristocratic. His 
habit was, in his own house, when tea was served 
to company, to walk down from his study into the 
room, take a seat and sip his tea, of which he 
seemed very fond, and then rise and walk out with- 
out speaking a word or taking any manner of 
notice of any individual. In the street he saw no- 
body, but wore his broad beaver pointing steadily 
to the horizon, and giving no idle nods. Still, I 
fancy Roger Sherman was capable of the most 
adroit address when his occasion required it. 
Several years after this, being in New Haven, I met 
Mr. Sherman in the street, expecting to pass by 
him unseen, us usual: I was surprised by his 
stopping and kindly greeting me, requesting me to 
call at his house before I left the city. When I 
called, he received me most courteously, and in a 
flattering manner congratulated me on my success 
in my profession, of which he said he had been in- 
formed. He then told me that being a member of 
the old Congress of the Confederation during the 
time Vermont (in which State he erroneously sup- 
posed I was settled) was asserting against New 
York its claim to independence, believing the 
claim just, he had been an earnest advocate for it ; 
that during the pendency of the claim, the agents 
of Vermont often urged him to accept grants of 
land from that State, which he refused, lest it 
should lessen his power to serve them. Now, as 
their claim was established, and the State admitted 
into the Union, if the people of Vermont continued 
to feel disposed to make him a grant of some of 



CONCLUSIOI^. 307 

their ungranted lands, as his family was large and 
his property small he had no objection to accept- 
ing it. I was sorry to be obliged to tell him that I 
belonged to New Hampshire and not to Vermont, 
but that living on the borders of that State, and 
being much acquainted with many of the inhabit- 
ants, I would do what I could to have his wishes 
complied with. This I afterwards did by stating 
the circumstances to several influential men of 
Vermont. They readily recognized the merit of 
Mr. Sherman's services, and said he ought to have 
a liberal grant. But I never heard that anything 
was done in the matter, and presume his case 
made another item in the history of the ingratitude 
of republics. The time the Vermonters needed 
his services was passed." 

George Sherman, the son of Roger Sherman, Jr., 
in a letter already referred to, thus speaks of his 
grandfather : " He was so devoted to public busi- 
ness that relatives were seldom afforded more than 
a minute or two. That, he said, was enough for 
our affairs." And yet no man ever had kindlier 
feelings for his relatives, or was more ready to as- 
sist them. In the same letter, it is stated, " Father 
said that in grandfather's time and long after, all 
had kindly social feelings and regard for each 
other." His affection for his brothers and sisters 
was extended to their children, who were often 
members of his family. 

In the last mentioned letter, it is stated of Roger 
Sherman that " he disliked pretension, especially 
in a seat or pew in church, preferring a back seat." 
He had no ear for music, and disliked to have the 



308 THE LIFE OF ROGER SHERMAN, 

last line in a hymn sung over twice. He thought 
once was enough. 

For many years Mr. Sherman was engaged in 
mercantile pursuits, first at New Milford, and after- 
wards at New Haven. The same qualities which 
made him a wise legislator, and an able judge, 
made him a prosperous business man. Had he 
continued in business, instead of devoting himself 
to public affairs, he would undoubtedly have been 
a rich man. As it was, he acquired sufficient 
property to live comfortably, and was able to in- 
dulge in acts of beneficence and hospitality. 

Senator Hoar, in a recent letter to me, relates 
the following interesting incident illustrating Mr. 
Sherman's kindness of heart. " I remember one 
of my mother's stories of her father. He came 
into the house one day, when she was a little girl, 
and told her mother that he had bought a piece of 
property which belonged to a very poor neighbor, 
and was utterly worthless to him or to anybody. 
He had given a very large price for it. My grand- 
mother exclaimed, 'Why Mr. Sherman, how 
could you give so much for that? You don't 
want it in the least.' To which grandfather 
answered that he did not want it, but that Mr. So- 
and-So was very poor, and needed a new coat. 
He thought it would hurt his feelings if he offered 
to give him one, so he had taken that way of sup- 
plying his needs." 

It is not strange that such a man received from 
the people so many honors. It would be strange 
if posterity did not keep his memory green. Ris- 
ing from the humblest rank to the highest by 



CONCLUSION, 309 

his own unaided efforts; in every upward step 
keeping his head clear and his heart pure ; wear- 
ing his honors meekly, and using them only for the 
public good ; with a mind ever receptive of the 
truth; loving justice, and resolute in maintaining 
it ; overthrowing error with a remorseless logic, yet 
ever tolerant of weakness and error in others ; — 
he rendered to his country the highest service in its 
most perilous hour, and left to his countrymen a 
shining example of that priceless truth that 

" The path of duty is the way to glory." 



APPENDIX. 



I. 

Correspondence between John Adams and Roger 
Sherman on the Consthution. 

John Adams to Roger Sherman. 

Richmond Hill, (New York,) 17 July, 1789. 

Dear Sir, — I read over, with pleasure, your observa- 
tions on the new federal constitution, and am glad to find 
an opportunity to communicate to you my opinion of 
some parts of them. It is by a free and amicable inter- 
course of sentiments, that the friends of our country may 
hope for such a unanimity of opinion and such a concert 
of exertions, as may sooner or later produce the blessings 
of good government. 

You say, " It is by some objected that the executive is 
blended with the legislature, and that those powers ought 
to be entirely distinct and unconnected. But is not that 
a gross error in politics ? The united wisdom and various 
interests of a nation should be combined in framing the 
laws by which all are to be governed and protected, 
though it should not be convenient to have them exe- 
cuted by the whole legislature. The supreme executive 
in Great Britain is one branch of the legislature, and has 
a negative on all the laws ; perhaps that is an extreme not 
to be imitated by a republic ; but the negative vested in 



312 APPENDIX, 

the president by the new constitution on the acts of con- 
gress, and the consequent revision, may be very useful to 
prevent laws being passed without mature deliberation, 
and to preserve stability in the administration of govern- 
ment ; and the concurrence of the senate in the appoint- 
ment to office will strengthen the hands of the executive, 
and secure the confidence of the people much better 
than a select council, and will be less expensive." 

Is it, then, " an extreme not to be imitated by a re- 
public," to make the supreme executive a branch of the 
legislature, and give it a negative on all the laws? If you 
please, we will examine this position, and see whether it 
is well founded. In the first place, what is your defini- 
tion of a republic ? Mine is this : A government whose 
sovereignty is vested in more than one person. Govern- 
ments are divided into despotisms, monarchies and repub- 
lics. A despotism is a government in which the three 
divisions of power, the legislative, executive and judicial, 
are all vested in one man. A monarchy is a government 
where the legislative and executive are vested in one man, 
but the judicial in other men. In all governments the 
sovereignty is vested in that man or body of men who 
have the legislative power. In despotisms and monar- 
chies, therefore, the legislative authority being in one 
man, the sovereignty is in one man. In republics, as the 
sovereignty, that is, the legislative, is always vested in 
more than one, it may be vested in as many more as 
you please. In the United States it might be vested in 
two persons, or in three millions, or in any other inter- 
mediate number ; and in every such supposable case the 
government would be a republic. In conforming to these 
ideas, republics have been divided into three species, 
monarchical, aristocratical, and democratical republics. 
England is a republic, a monarchical republic it is true, 
but a republic still ; because the sovereignty, which is the 



APPENDIX. 313 

legislative power, is vested in more than one man ; it is 
equally divided, indeed, between the one, the few, and 
the many, or in other words, between the natural division 
of mankind in society, — the monarchical, the aristocrat- 
ical, and democratical. It is essential to a monarchical 
republic, that the supreme executive should be a branch 
of the legislature, and have a negative on all the laws. I 
say essential, because if monarchy were not an essential 
part of the sovereignty, the government would not be a 
monarchical republic. Your position is therefore clearly 
and certainly an error, because the practice of Great 
Britain in making the supreme executive a branch of the 
legislature, and giving it a negative on all the laws, must 
be imitated by every monarchical republic. 

I will pause here, if you please ; but if you will give 
me leave, I will write another letter or two upon this sub- 
ject. Meantime I am, with unalterable friendship. 
Yours, 

John Adams. 

Dear Sir, — In my letter of yesterday I think it was 
demonstrated that the English government is a republic, 
and that the regal negative upon the laws is essential 
to that republic. Because, without it, that government 
would not be what it is, a monarchical republic; and, 
consequently, could not preserve the balance of power 
between the executive and legislative powers, nor that 
other balance which is in the legislature, — between the 
one, the few, and the many ; in which two balances the 
excellence of that form of government must consist. 

Let us now inquire, whether the new constitution of 
the United States is or is not a monarchical republic, like 
that of Great Britain. The monarchical and the aristo- 
cratical power in our constitution, it is true, are not 
hereditary; but this makes no difference in the nature 



314 APPENDIX. 

of the power, in the nature of the balance, or in the 
name of the species of government It would make no 
difference in the power of a judge or justice, or general 
or admiral, whether his commission were for life or years. 
His authority during the time it lasted, would be the same 
whether it were for one year or twenty, or for life, or de- 
scendible to his eldest son. The people, the nation, in 
whom all power resides originally, may delegate their 
power for one year or for ten years ; for years, or for 
life ; or may delegate it in fee simple or fee tail, if I may 
so express myself; or during good behavior, or at will, 
or till further orders. 

A nation might unanimously create a dictator or a des- 
pot, for one year or more, or for life, or for perpetuity 
with hereditary descent. In such a case, the dictator for 
one year would as really be a dictator for the time his 
power lasted, as the other would be whose power was 
perpetual and descendible. A nation in the same man- 
ner might create a simple monarchy for years, life, or 
perpetuity, and in either case the creature would be 
equally a simple monarch during the continuance of his 
power. So the people of England might create king, 
lords, and commons, for a year, or for several years, or 
for life, and in any of these cases, their government would 
be a monarchical republic, or, if you will, a limited mon- 
archy, during its continuance, as much as it is now, when 
the king and nobles are hereditary. They might make 
their house of commons hereditary too. What the con- 
sequence of this would be it is easy to foresee ; but it 
would not in the first moment make any change in the 
legal power, nor in the name of the government. 

Let us now consider what our constitution is, and see 
whether any other name can with propriety be given it, 
than that of a monarchical republic, or if you will, a lim- 
ited monarchy. The duration of our president is neither 



APPENDIX. 315 

perpetual nor for life; it is only for four years; but his 
power during those years is much greater than that of an 
avoyer, a consul, a podesta, a doge, a stadtholder; nay, 
than a king of Poland ; nay, than a king of Sparta. I 
know of no first magistrate in any republican government 
excepting England and Neuchatel, who possesses a consti- 
tutional dignity, authority, and power comparable to his. 
The power of sending and receiving ambassadors, of rais- 
ing and commanding armies and navies, of nominating 
and appointing and commissioning all officers, of manag- 
ing the treasures, the internal and external affairs of the 
nation ; nay, the whole executive power, coextensive with 
the legislative power, is vested in him, and he has the 
right, and his is the duty, to take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed. These rights and duties, these pre- 
rogatives and dignities, are so transcendent that they 
must naturally and necessarily excite in the nation all 
the jealousy, envy, fears, apprehensions, and opposition, 
that are so constantly observed in England against the 
crown. 

That these powers are necessary, I readily admit 
That the laws cannot be executed without them ; that the 
lives, liberties, properties and characters of the citizens 
cannot be secure without their protection, is most clear. 
But it is equally certain, I think, that they ought to have 
been still greater, or much less. The limitations upon 
them in the cases of war, treaties, and appointments to 
office, and especially the limitation on the president's in- 
dependence as a branch of the legislative, will be the 
destruction of this constitution, and involve us in anarchy, 
if not amended. I shall pass over all particulars for the 
present, except the last ; becausie that is now the point in 
dispute between you and me. Longitude and the philoso- 
pher's stone, have not been sought with more earnestness 
by philosophers than a guardian of the laws has been 



3l6 APPENDIX. 

studied by legislators from Plato to Montesquieu; but 
every project has been found to be no better than com- 
mitting the lamb to the custody of the wolf, except that 
one which is called a balance of power. A simple 
sovereignty in one, a few, or many, has no balance, and 
therefore no laws. A divided sovereignty without a bal- 
ance^ or in other words, where the division is unequal, is 
always at war, and consequently has no laws. In our 
constitution the sovereignty, — that is, the legislative 
power, — is divided into three branches. The house and 
senate are equal, but the third branch, though essential, is 
not equal. The president must pass judgment upon 
every law ; but in some cases his judgment may be over- 
ruled. These cases will be such as attack his constitu- 
tional power; it is therefore, certain he has not equal 
power to defend himself, or the constitution, or the judi- 
cial power, as the senate and house have. 

Power naturally grows. Why? Because human pas- 
sions are insatiable. But that power alone can grow 
which already is too great ; that which is unchecked ; 
that which has no equal power to control it. The legisla- 
tive power, in our constitution, is greater than the execu- 
tive ; it will, therefore, encroach, because both aristocratical 
and democratical passions are insatiable. The legislative 
power will increase, the executive will diminish. In the 
legislature, the monarchical power is not equal either to 
the aristocratical or democratical; it will, therefore, de- 
crease, while the other will increase. Indeed, I think 
aristocratical power is greater than either the monarchical 
or democratical. That will, therefore, swallow up the 
other two. 

In my letter of yesterday, I think it was proved, that 
a republic might make the supreme executive an integral 
part of the legislature. In this, it is equally demonstrated, 
as I think, that our constitution ought to be amended by 



APPENDIX, 317 

a decisive adoption of that expedient. If you do not 
forbid me, I shall write to you again. 

Dear Sir, — There is a sense and degree in which the 
executive, in our constitution, is blended with the legisla- 
ture. The president has the power of suspending a law ; of 
giving the two houses an opportunity to pause, to think, 
to collect themselves, to reconsider a rash step of a ma- 
jority. He has a right to urge all his reasons against it, by 
speech or message ; which, becoming public, is an appeal 
to the nation. But the rational objection here is not that 
the executive is blended with the legislature, but that it is 
not enough blended ; that it is not incorporated with it, 
and made an essential part of it. If it were an integral 
part of it, it might negative a law without much noise, 
speculation, or confusion among the people. But as it 
now stands, I beg you to consider it is almost impossible, 
that a president should ever have the courage to make 
use of his partial negative. What a situation would a 
president be in to maintain a controversy against a 
majority of both houses before a tribunal of the public I 
To put a stop to a law that more than half the senate and 
house, and consequently, we may suppose more than half 
the nation, have set their hearts upon I It is, moreover, 
possible, that more than two thirds of the nation, the 
senate, and house may, in times of calamity, distress, mis- 
fortune, and ill success of the measures of government, 
from the momentary passion and enthusiasm, demand a 
law which will wholly subvert the constitution. The con- 
stitution of Athens was overturned in such a manner by 
Aristides himself. The constitution should guard against 
a possibility of its subversion ; but we may take stronger 
ground, and assert that it is probable such cases will hap- 
pen, and that the constitution will, in fact, be subverted 
in this way. Nay, I go further, and say, that from the 



3l8 APPENDIX. 

constitution of human nature, and the constant course of 
human affairs, it is certain that our constitution will be 
subverted, if not amended, and that in a very short time, 
merely for want of a decisive negative in the executive. 

There is another sense and another degree in which 
the executive is blended with the legislature, which is 
liable to great and just objection ; which excites alarms^ 
jealousies, and apprehensions, in a very great degree. I 
mean, ist, the negative of the senate upon appointment 
to office ; 2nd, the negative of the senate upon treaties ; 
and 3rd, the negative of the two houses upon war. I 
shall confine myself at present, to the first. The negative 
of the senate upon appointments is liable to the following 
objections : — 

1. It takes away, or, at least, it lessens the responsibility 
of the executive. Our constitution obliges me to say, 
that it lessens the responsibility of the president. The 
blame of an injudicious, weak, or wicked appointment, is 
shared so much between him and the senate, that his part 
of it will be too small. Who can censure him, without 
censuring the senate, and the legislatures who appoint 
them ? All their friends will be interested to vindicate the 
president, in order to screen them from censure. Be- 
sides, if an impeachment against an officer is brought 
before them, are they not interested to acquit him, lest 
some part of the odium of his guilt should fall upon 
them, who advised to his appointment? 

2. It turns the minds and attention of the people to 
the senate, a branch of the legislature, in executive mat- 
ters. It interests another branch of the legislature in the 
management of the executive. It divides the people be- 
tween the executive and the senate; whereas all the 
people ought to be united to watch the executive, to 
oppose its encroachments, and resist its ambition. Sena- 
tors and representatives, and their constituents, in short, 



APPENDIX. 319 

the aristocratical and democratical divisions of society 
ought to be united on all occasions to oppose the exec- 
utive or the monarchical branch when it attempts to 
overleap its limits. But how can this union be effected, 
when the aristocratical branch has pledged its reputation 
to the executive, by consenting to an appointment ? 

3. It has a natural tendency to excite ambition in the 
senate. An active, ardent spirit, who is rich and able, 
and has a great reputation and influence, will be solicited 
by candidates for office. Not to introduce the idea of 
bribery, because, though it certainly would force itself in, 
in other countries, and will probably here, when we grow 
populous and rich, it is not yet to be dreaded, I hope, 
ambition must come in already. A senator of great in- 
fluence will be naturally ambitious and desirous of increas- 
ing his influence. Will he not be under a temptation to 
use his influence with the president as well as his brother 
senators, to appoint persons to office in the several states, 
who will exert themselves in elections, to get out his ene- 
mies, or opposers both in senate and house of represen- 
atives, and to get in his friends, perhaps his instruments ? 
Suppose a senator to aim at the treasury office for him- 
self, his brother, father, or son. Suppose him to aim at 
the president's chair, or vice-president's, at the next elec- 
tion, or at the office of war, foreign, or domestic affairs. 
Will he not naturally be tempted to make use of his whole 
patronage, his whole influence, in advising to appoint- 
ments, both with president and senators, to get such 
persons nominated as will exert themselves in elections 
of president, vice-president, senators, and house of repre- 
sentatives, to increase his interest and promote his views? 
In this point of view, I am very apprehensive that this 
defect in our constitution will have an unhappy tendency 
to introduce corruption of the grossest kinds, both of 
ambition and avarice, into all our elections, and this will 



320 APPENDIX. 

be the worst of poisons to our government. It will not 
only destroy the present form of government, but render 
it almost impossible to substitute in its place any free 
government, even a better limited-monarchy, or any other 
than a despotism or a simple monarchy. 

4. To avoid the evil under the last head, it will be in 
danger of dividing the continent into two or three nations, 
a case that presents no prospect but of perpetual war. 

5. This negative on appointments is in danger of in- 
volving the senate in reproach, censure, obloquy, and 
suspicion, without doing any good. Will the senate use 
their negative, or not? If not, why should they have it? 
Many will censure them for not using it ; many will ridi- 
cule them, and call them servile, &c. If they do use 
it, the very first instance of it will expose the senators to 
the resentment of not only the disappointed candidate 
and all his friends, but of the president and all his friends, 
and these will be most of the officers of government, 
through the nation. 

6. We shall very soon have parties formed ; a court 
and country party, and these parties will have names given 
them. One party in the house of representatives will 
support the president and his measures and ministers; 
the other will oppose them. A similar party will be in 
the senate; these parties will study with all their arts, 
perhaps with intrigue, perhaps with corruption, at every 
election to increase their own friends and diminish their 
opposers. Suppose such parties formed in the senate, 
and then consider what factious divisions we shall have 
there upon every nomination. 

7. The senate have not time. The convention and 
Indian treaties. 

You are of opinion "that the concurrence of the 
senate in ^ the appointments to office, will strengthen 
the hands of the executive, and secure confidence of 



APPENDIX, 321 

the people, much better than a select council, and will 
be less expensive." 

But in every one of these ideas, I have the misfortune 
to differ from you. 

It will weaken the hands of the executive, by lessening 
the obligation, gratitude, and attachment of the candidate 
to the president, by dividing his attachment between the 
executive and legislative, which are natural enemies. 
Officers of government, instead of having a single eye 
and undivided attachment to the executive branch, as 
they ought to have, consistent with the law and the con- 
stitution, will be constantly tempted to be factious with 
their factious patrons in the senate. The president's 
own officers, in a thousand instances, will oppose his just 
and constitutional exertions, and screen themselves under 
the wings of their patrons and party in the legislature. 
Nor will it secure the confidence of the people. The 
people will have more confidence in the executive, in 
executive matters, than in the senate. The people will 
be constantly jealous of factious schemes in the senators 
to unduly influence the executive, to serve each other's 
private views. The people will also be jealous that the 
influence of the senate will be employed to conceal, con- 
nive at, and defend guilt in executive officers, instead of 
being a guard and watch upon them, and a terror to 
them. A council, selected by the president himself, at 
his pleasure, from among the senators, representatives, 
and nation at large, would be purely responsible. In 
that case, the senate would be a terror to privy coun- 
sellors; its honor would never be pledged to support 
any measure or instrument of the executive beyond jus- 
tice, law, and the constitution. Nor would a privy coun- 
cil be more expensive. The whole senate must now 
deliberate on every appointment, and if they ever find 
time for it, you will find that a great deal of time will be 



322 APPENDIX. 

required and consumed in this service. Then, the presi- 
dent might have a constant executive council; now, he 
has none. 

I said, under the seventh head, that the senate would 
not have time. You will find that the whole business of 
this government will be infinitely delayed by this nega- 
tive of the senate on treaties and appointments. Indian 
treaties and consular conventions have been already wait- 
ing for months and the senate have not been able to find 
a moment of time to attend to them ; and this evil must 
constantly increase. So that the senate must be con- 
stantly sitting, and must be paid as long as they sit. . . . 
But I have tried your patience. Is there any tmth in 
these broken hints and crude surmises, or not? To me 
they appear well founded and very important. 
I am, with usual affection, yours, 

John Adams. 

New York, 20 July, 1789. 

Sir, — I was honored with your letters of the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth instant, and am much obliged to 
you for the observations they contain. 

The subject of government is an important one, neces- 
sary to be well understood by the citizens, and especially 
by the legislators of these states. I shall be happy to re- 
ceive further light on the subject, and to have any errors 
that I may have entertained corrected. 

I find that writers on government differ in their defini- 
tion of a republic, Entick's Dictionary defines it, " A 
commonwealth without a kingP I find you do not agree 
to the negative part of his definition. What I meant by 
it was, a government under the authority of the people, 
consisting of legislative, executive, and judiciary powers ; 
the legislative powers vested in an assembly, consisting <rf 
one or more branches who, together with the executive. 



APPENDIX, 323 

are appointed by the people, and dependent on them for 
continuance, by periodical elections, agreeably to an estab- 
lished constitution ; and that what especially denominates 
it a republic is its dependence on the public or people at 
large, without any hereditary powers. But it is not of so 
much importance by what appellation the government is 
distinguished, as to have it well constituted to secure the 
rights, and advance the happiness of the community. 

I fully agree with you, sir, that it is optional with the 
people of a state to establish any form of government 
they please ; to vest the powers in one, a few, or manyj 
and for a limited or unlimited time ; and the individuals 
of the state will be bound to yield obedience to such 
government while it continues ; but I am also of opinion, 
that they may alter their frame of government when they 
please, any former act of theirs, however explicit, to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

But what I principally have in view, is to submit to 
your consideration the reasons that have inclined me to 
think that the qualified negative given to the executive by 
our constitution is better than an absolute negative. In 
Great Britain, where there are the rights of the nobility as 
well as the rights of the common people to support, it 
may be necessary that the crown should have a complete 
negative to preserve the balance ; — but in a republic like 
ours, wherein is no higher rank than that of common citi- 
zens, unless distinguished by appointment to office, what 
occasion can there be for such a balance ? It is true that 
some men in every society have natural and acquired 
abilities superior to others, and greater wealth. Yet these 
give them no legal claim to offices in preference to others, 
but will doubtless give them some degree of influence, 
and justly, when they are men of integrity; and may 
procure them appointments to places of trust in the 
government. Yet, they having only the same common 



324 APPENDIX. 

rights with the other citizens^ what competition of inter- 
ests can there be to require a balance ? Besides, while 
the real estates are divisible among all the children, or 
other kindred in equal degree, and entails are not ad- 
mitted, it will operate as an agrarian law, and the influ- 
ence arising from great estates in a few hands or families 
will not exist to such a degree of extent or duration as to 
form a system, or have any great effect. 

In order to trace moral effects to their causes, and 
vice versay it is necessary to attend to principles as they 
operate on men's minds. Can it be expected that a chief 
magistrate of a free and enlightened people, on whom he 
depends for his election and continuance in office, 
would give his negative to a law passed by the other two 
branches of the legislature, if he had power? But the 
qualified negative given to the executive by our constitu- 
tion, which is only to produce a revision, will probably be 
exercised on proper occasions ; and the legislature have 
the benefit of the president's reasons in their further de- 
liberations on the subject, and if a sufficient number of 
the members of either house should be convinced by them 
to put a negative upon the bill, it would add weight to 
the president's opinion, and render it more satisfactory to 
the people. But if two thirds of the members of each 
house, after considering the reasons offered by the presi- 
dent, should adhere to their former opinion, will not that 
be the most safe foundation to rest the decision upon? 
On the whole, it appears to me that the power of a com- 
plete negative, if given, would be a dormant and useless one, 
and that the provision in the constitution is calculated to 
operate with proper weight, and will produce beneficial 
effects. 

The negative vested in the crown of Great Britain has 
never been exercised since the Revolution, and the great 
influence of the crown in the legislature of that nation is 



APPENDIX. 325 

derived from another source, that of appointment to all 
offices of honor and profit, which has rendered the power 
of the crown nearly absolute ; so that the nation is in fact 
governed by the cabinet council, who are the creatures of 
the crown. The consent of parliament is necessary to 
give sanction to their measures, and this they easily ob- 
tain by the influence aforesaid. If they should carry 
their point so far as directly to affect personal liberty or 
private property, the people would be alarmed and op- 
pose their progress ; but this forms no part of their sys- 
tem, the principal object of which is revenue, which they 
have carried to an enormous height. Wherever the chief 
magistrate may appoint to offices without control, his 
government may become absolute, or at least aggressive ; 
therefore the concurrence of the senate is made requisite 
by our constitution. 

I have not time or room- to add or apologize. 

II. 

I RECEIVED your letter of the twentieth instant. I had 
in mine, of the same date, communicated to you my 
ideas on that part of the constitution, limiting the presi- 
dent's power of negativing acts of the legislature ; and 
just hinted some thoughts on the propriety of the provi- 
sion made for the appointment to office, which I esteem 
to be a power nearly as important as legislation. 

If that was vested in the president alone, he might, 
were it not for his periodical election by the people, ren- 
der himself despotic. It was a saying of one of the kings 
of England, that while the king could appoint the bishops 
and judges, he might have what religion and law he 
pleased. 

It appears to me the senate is the most important 
branch in the government, for aiding and supporting the 



326 APPENDIX. 

executive, securing the rights of the individual states, the 
government of the United States, and the liberties of the 
people. The executive magistrate is to execute the laws. 
The senate, being a branch of the legislature, will natu- 
rally incline to have them duly executed, and, therefore, 
will advise to such appointments as will best attain that 
end. From the knowledge of the people in the several 
states, they can give the best information as to who are 
qualified for ofiice ; and though they will, as you justly 
observe, in some degree lessen his responsibility, yet their 
advice may enable him to make such judicious appoint- 
ments as to render responsibility less necessary. The 
senators being eligible by the legislatures of the several 
states, and dependent on them for re-election, will be 
vigilant in supporting their rights against infringement 
by the legislature or executive of the United States ; and 
the government of the Union being federal, and instituted 
by the several states for the advancement of their inter- 
ests, they may be considered as so many pillars to sup- 
port it, and, by the exercise of the state governments, 
peace and good order may be preserved in places most 
remote from the seat of the federal government, as well 
as at the centre. And the municipal and federal rights of 
the people at large will be regarded by the senate, they 
being elected by the immediate representatives of the 
people, and their rights will be best secured by a due 
execution of the laws. What temptation can the senate 
be under to partiality in the trial of officers of whom they 
had a voice in the appointment ? Can they be disposed 
to favor a person who has violated his trust and their 
confidence? 

The other evils you mention, that may result from this 
power, appear to me but barely possible. The senators 
will doubtless be in general some of the most respectable 
citizens in the states for wisdom and probity, superior to 



APPENDIX, 327 

mean and unworthy conduct, and instead of undue in- 
fluence, to procure appointments for themselves or their 
friends, they will consider that a fair and upright conduct 
will have the best tendency to preserve the confidence of 
the people and of the states. They will be disposed to 
be diffident in recommending their friends and kindred, 
lest they should be suspected of partiality and the other 
members will feel the same kind of reluctance, lest they 
should be thought unduly to favor a person, because re- 
lated to a member of their body ; so that their friends 
and relations would not stand so good a chance for 
appointment to offices, according to their merit, as 
others. 

The senate is a convenient body to advise the presi- 
dent, from the smallness of its numbers. And I think the 
laws would be better framed and more duly administered, 
if the executive and judiciary officers were in general 
members of the legislature, in case there should be no 
interference as to the time of attending to their several 
duties. This I have learned by experience in the gov- 
ernment in which I live, and by observation of others 
differently constituted. I see no principles in our con- 
stitution that have any tendency to aristocracy, which, if 
I understand the term, is a government by nobles, inde- 
pendent of the people, which cannot take place, in either 
respect, without a total subversion of the constitution. 
As both branches of Congress are eligible from the citi- 
zens at large, and wealth is not a requisite qualification, 
both will commonly be composed of members of similar 
circumstances in life. And I see no reason why the sev- 
eral branches of the government should not maintain the 
most perfect harmony, their powers being all directed to 
one end, the advancement of the public good. 

If the president alone was vested with the power of 
appointing all officers, and was left to select a council for 



328 APPENDIX. 

himself, he would be liable to be deceived by flatterers 
and pretenders to patriotism, who would have no motive 
but their own emolument. They would wish to extend 
the powers of the executive to increase their own impor- 
tance ; and, however upright he might be in his intentions, 
there would be great danger of his being misled, even to 
the subversion of the constitution, or, at least, to introduce 
such evils as to interrupt the harmony of the government, 
and deprive him of the confidence of the people. 

But I have said enough upon these speculative points, 
which nothing but experience can reduce to a certainty. 
I am, with great respect, 

Your obliged humble servant, 

Roger Sherbian. 



III. 

George Bancroft's Letter on the Foregoing 
Correspondence. 

New York, 14 April, 1851. 

My dear Sir : Let me not delay for a single day my 
hearty acknowledgment of your prompt and liberal court- 
esy in favoring me with copies of the interesting and most 
instructive correspondence between J. Adams and Sher- 
man. The part which Sherman took in the convention 
for framing our constitution, where no one excelled him 
in logical consistency, prepared me for the good clear 
sense and patriotism and political foresight which distin- 
guish his letters. His calm confidence in the perpetuity 
of the great constitution which he assisted to form, does 
him enduring honor. If there were any of the politicians 
of that day who did not comprehend what they had 
achieved, he was not of the number. 

A somewhat similar correspondence took place between 



APPENDIX, 329 

John and Samuel Adams ; in which John yet more de- 
cidedly avows his peculiar views of a desirable republic ; 
and is thoroughly and calmly set right by the plain wis- 
dom of his kinsman. 

The letters you have been so good as to send illustrate 
the same opinions: but in my judgment derive their 
greatest interest from the unshaken confidence of Roger 
Sherman in the durability of the Union, at the very 
moment of its inauguration. I remain, my dear Sir, 
Very truly your obliged 

George Bancrofi. 
Hon. R. S. Baldwin. 



IV. 
Roger Sherman on Half Pay of Army OrncERS. ' 

Annapolis, March, 1784. 

Sir, — Congress have received your letter of Nov., ist, 
1783, enclosing an address from the House of Representa- 
tives of the State of Connecticut setting forth, that in the 
statement of the public debt accompanying the recom- 
mendations and address of Congress of the i8th of April 
last they observe a charge of five millions of dollars as 
due to the officers of the army granted them by Congress 
in exchange for half pay for life. 

That they are not satisfied that half pay for life, or five 
years full pay in lieu thereof, are warranted by the Articles 
of Confederation, or that the power to make such grant 
was ever delegated to Congress. 

That it is considered as an unnecessary exercise, if not 
an unwarrantable stretch of power ; and that they cannot 
reconcile it to principles of justice, more especially as it 
respects the officers of that State. 



330 APPENDIX, 

That on account of the above considerations, it seems 
impracticable to execute any means for raising its quota 
of the public debt as stated ; though they are not disposed 
to pass a negative on the requisition of Congress on the 
ground of its being unsupported by the Articles of Con- 
federation as to the mode of collection. 

That they most earnestly request the serious attention 
of Congress to this important subject and that they will 
take measures consistent with public faith and the princi- 
ples of justice to remove all causes of jealousy and 
complaint. 

From the above observations the following questions 
are suggested. 

First. Whether the Congress that passed the resolution 
of the 2 1 St of October 1780 were authorized and em- 
powered to make the grant of half pay for life contained 
therein? 

Second. If they were vested with power to make such 
a grant, whether it was necessary or expedient? 

With respect to the first question, it cannot be ex- 
pected that the present Congress should define the 
powers under which the delegates from the several States 
acted previously to the Confederation. The States them- 
selves have not done it — they all gave general powers to 
carry on the war and to oppose the then enemy 
effectually. 

The resolution of Congress referred to, appears by the 
yeas and nays to have been passed according to the then 
established rules of that body in transacting the business 
of the United States. The resolution itself had public 
notoriety and does not appear to have been formally ob- 
jected against by the Legislature of any State till after the 
Confederation was completely adopted ; and by the 1 2th 
article of the Confederation all debts contracted by or 
under the authority of Congress, before the assembling of 



APPENDIX. 331 

the United States in pursuance of the present Confedera- 
tion shall be deemed and considered as a charge against 
the United States for the payment of which the faith of 
the United States is solemnly pledged. 

The question is not whether Congress are vested by 
the Confederation with a power to grant half pay for life. 
This need not be enquired into. It is whether by the 
1 2 th article of the Confederation they can do otherwise 
than to acknowledge that a debt was created by the reso- 
lution of the 2 1 St of October 1780 which resolution was 
agreed to by persons having plenipotentiary powers from 
their respective States, to do whatever appeared to them 
necessary and expedient for opposing the then enemy 
effectuallv. 

With respect to the expediency or necessity of the 
measure, we can only observe that if we were clearly em- 
powered we have great reason to distrust our own compe- 
tency to judge in this matter, none of the delegates 
present having been in Congress at that particular time. 
That a proper degree of respect to the States obliges us 
to suppose that they appointed persons most worthy of 
the trust and confidence placed in them. 

That tenderness to the character of those who consti- 
tuted that Congress, who acted from an immediate view 
of the most cogent reasons that operated in favour of it, 
which we cannot now be fully impressed with, demands 
liberality of sentiment in this respect. 

The alteration of the mode of payment cannot be 
material in the question unless it can be proved that the 
exchange is less favourable to the United States, than the 
half pay for life. 

We have omitted to remark on several other matters 
contained in the address ; and have confined ourselves to 
that which seems to have been the occasion thereof. We 
have only to request a candid examination of the question. 



332 APPENDIX, 

by the House of Representatives of the State of Connecti- 
cut, and we can not but flatter ourselves that the Union 
will have in this as in all other federal matters their firm 
support, that they will always exercise that candor and 
liberality of sentiment toward the opinions of others, with- 
out which it will be impossible to provide for the general 
interests of the United States. 

Roger Sherman. 
Mr Osgood \ 
Mr Lee C Committee, 

Mr Ellery ) 

That the paymaster general be and he hereby is 
directed to govern himself in settling the accounts of the 
army since the year 1779, by the payment made by the 
respective States to their lines, so that where the pay has 
been secured by any State the same shall not be again se- 
cured by the United States. 



V. 

Roger Sherman to Josiah Bartlett on the Vermont 
Controversy. 

Philadelphia, July 31, 1781. 

Sir, — Enclosed is a copy of an act of the general 
court of the State of Massachusetts, respecting the State 
of Vermont. The matter has been debated for several 
days past in Congress on ia report of a committee to 
whom was referred a letter from the President of your 
State. The committee reported as their opinion that 
copies of the act of Massachusetts be sent to the States 
of New Hampshire and New York, and that the expedi- 
ency of passing similar acts be referred to them, and in 
case they relinquish their claim of jurisdiction over the 



APPENDIX. 333 

grants on the west side of Connecticut river, bounded 
east by P. river, north by latitude forty-five degrees, west 
by Lake Champlain and tl^e west lines of several town- 
ships granted by the governor of New Hampshire to the 
northwest corner of Massachusetts, and south by the 
north line of Massachusetts, Congress will guaranty the 
lands and jurisdiction belonging to the said States re- 
spectively without the said limits against all claims and 
encroachments of the people within those limits. What 
will ultimately be done in Congress is uncertain ; some 
gentlemen are for declaring Vermont an independent 
State ; others for explicitly recommending to the States 
aforesaid to relinquish their claims of jurisdiction ; others 
only for referring it to their consideration as reported by 
the committee, and some few against doing anything that 
will tend to make a new State. 

I am of opinion that a speedy and amicable settlement 
of the controversy would conduce very much to the peace 
and welfare of the United States, and that it will be diffi- 
cult if not impracticable to reduce the people on the east 
side of the river to obedience to the government of New 
Hampshire until the other dispute is settled, that the 
longer it remains unsettled the more difficult it will be to 
remedy the evils — but if the States of New Hampshire 
and New York would follow the example of Massachu- 
setts respecting the grants on the west of Connecticut 
river the whole controversy would be quieted very much 
to the advantage and satisfaction of the United States, 
and that the inhabitants of New Hampshire and New 
York living without the disputed territory would return 
to their allegiance. 

The British Ministry esteem it an object of great im- 
portance to them, to engage the people of Vermont in 
their interest and have accordingly instructed Gen. Clin- 
ton and Gen. Haldiman to use their best endeavors for 



334 APPENDIX. 

that end, and though I don't think the people have any 
inclination to come under the British yoke or to do any- 
thing injurious to this country, yet if left in the present 
situation, they may be led to take steps very prejudicial 
to the United States. 

I think it very unlikely that Congress can attend to the 
settlement of the dispute by a judicial decision during the 
war. For though the parties were heard last fall respect- 
ing their claims, yet it cannot now be determined upon 
the right without a new hearing, because there are many 
new members that were not then present. I am credi- 
bly informed that a great majority of the members of the 
Legislature of the State of New York at their last winter 
session were willing to relinquish their claim of jurisdic- 
tion over that district, and that they should be admitted to 
be a separate State, but the governor for some reasons 
prevented an act passing at that time. 

We have no news remarkable here. Paper currency 
is very much at an end. The new bills are negotiated 
some, rather as a merchandize than money, but silver 
and gold is the only currency. The prices of commodi- 
ties are much fallen, many articles are as low as before 
the war. 

I send you two of the last News Papers. I am with 
great esteem and regard 

Your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 

I^Q^OilABLE JOSUH BaETLETT. 

^ VI. 

^^CTOFT ON Robert Morris's Accounts. 

• 

o some severe criticisms of Robert Morris, 

et. He value of his public ' mm^^^^ ^y 

cas nh preservii 



'I 



APPENDIX, 335 

The committee appointed upon the memorial of Rob- 
ert Morris, late Superintendent of the Finance of the 
United States, to inquire into the receipts and expend- 
itures of public monies during his adminstration in said 
office, Report 

That they conceived it unnecessary to examine in de- 
tail the public accounts under the administration of the 
late superintendent of finance, they having been examined 
and passed in the House, and the views of the memori- 
alist would be best complied with by obtaining from the 
register the statements of the receipts and expenditures 
with the other extracts from the public records herewith 
submitted together with a more particular statement of 
the accounts made out and published in the year 1784, 
in such a number of printed copies of each as will furnish 
to each member of Congress the best practicable means 
of appreciating the services of the memorialist and the 
utility of his administration, under which in the opin- 
ions of your committee the United States derived signal 
advantages. 

That from these documents it appears that the monies 
received into the Treasury of the United States during 
the said administration amounted to 8,177,431.1-2 dols. 
And the expenditures amounted to 8,155,445. Leaving 
in the Treasury at the close of the administration a bal- 
ance of 21,986.1-2 dols. 

The acts of the late Congress respecting said office, 
and reports and letters of the superintendent in the course 
of his administration, which are on file in the public 
offices are referred to in the close of the document first 
mentioned. 

All which is humbly submitted. 




336 APPENDIX. 

VII. 

Roger Sherman's Claims against Connecticut. 

New Haven, Oct. 17th, 1789. 

Sir, The Honorable the General Assembly in January 
last ordered that one hundred and fifty pounds should be 
advanced to each of the members of Congress from this 
state for their expenses to be paid over to the United 
States on account of the specie requisitions made on this 
state when they should receive a compensation for their 
services and expenses. But on consideration of the great 
expenses incurred by this state in the course of the late 
war, and advancements of money to the United States, 
and for supporting invalids since the peace, the members 
of Congress for this state thought it might be advisable 
for the state to retain the monies in their own hands, un- 
til there should be a final liquidation of their accounts. 
The sum advanced to me I am willing to repay in such 
manner as the Honorable Assembly shall direct ; but on 
this occasion I would take the liberty humbly to represent 
that there is now due to me from the state the sum of 775 
pounds and 13 shillings being the balance due for my 
services and expenses as a member of Congress for their 
state between the loth day of May 1775 and sometime 
in October 1780 as pr account liquidated by the com- 
mittee of pay table, which was then due and payable out 
of the civil list funds, but there not being money in the 
Treasury to pay it at that time I took a note for it pay- 
able in hard money by a special order of the General 
Assembly which note is dated Nov. 29th 1780 which I 
expected would be paid at any time when I should have 
occasion for it after the close of the war, but not being 
under necessity for it until now, I did not request payment. 



APPENDIX. 337 

But I have lately been at considerable expense, by ad- 
vancements by way of settlement to several of my chil- 
dren, and do really stand in need of some part of it It 
would greatly oblige me if the whole of the 150 pounds 
advanced to me as aforesaid might be offset toward said 
note, but if only 100 pounds of it shall be advanced to 
be retained by me for that piupose^ or any lesser sum it 
would afford me some relief. 

I loaned some hundred pounds in money to the state 
for which I have Treasurer's note now due, but that sum 
that was due for my services and expenses 1 always con- 
sidered payable in hard money out of the civil list funds 
or some other as good. I would humbly request your 
Excellency to lay this letter before the Honorable the 
General Assembly that they may take, such order thereon 
as in their wisdom and justice shall seem meet I am 
with great respect your Excellency's 
Humble servant 

Roger Sherman. 
His Excellency Governor Huntington. 

vni. 

ISAAC SHERMAN. 

Gen. WAsmNGTON to Gov. Trumbull, recommending 
Isaac Sherman for Promotion. 

October 9th, 1776. 
Am. Archives, 5th Series, vol. 2, p. 58. 

" I WOULD also recommend Major Sherman, son of Mr. 
Sherman, of Congress, a young gentleman who appears to 
me, and who is generally esteemed an active and valuable 
officer, whom the General Officers have omitted to set 



338 APPENDIX. 

down in their lists, expecting, I suppose, (if they thought 
of him at all) that he would be provided for in the Massa- 
chusetts regiment, because he is [in] one at this time. 
But as it is probable promotions in that State will be con- 
fined to their own people, I should apprehend that he 
should be properly noticed in your appointments, lest we 
should lose an officer who, so far as I can judge, promises 
good service to his country." 



Stony Point. 

On the 17th of July, 1779, the day after the capture of 
Stony Point, General Wayne, while suffering from the 
wound received on that occasion, sent a report to General 
Washington, in which he failed to mention several officers 
who distinguished themselves in the assault. In a letter 
to the President of Congress, on the loth of August, 
1779, acknowledging a note of thanks, he rectified this 
mistake as follows ; — 

" I feel much hurt that I did not, in my letter to him 
(Gen. Washington) of the 17th of July, mention (among 
other brave and worthy officers) the names of Lieut. 
Col. Sherman, Majors Hull, Murphy, and Posey whose 
good conduct and intrepidity justly entitled them to that 
attention. Permit me therefore, thro' your Excellency, 
to do them that justice now, which the state of my 
wound diverted me from in the first instance." 



APPENDIX. 339 

IX. 

WYOMING. 
Dyer, Sherman and Deane to Z. Butler and others. 

Philadelphia, August 2nd, 1775. 

Gentm. — It has been represented to the Continental 
Congress that there is great danger of discord and conten- 
tion if not hostility and bloodshed between the people 
settling under Connecticut claim and those under Penn- 
sylvania which would be attended with the most unhappy 
consequences at this time of general calamity and when 
we want our whole united strength against our common 
^nemy.. We are therefore desired to write to you and 
press upon you the necessity of peace and good order 
not only among yourselves, but by no means to give the 
least disturbance or molestation to the persons, property 
or possessions of those settled under the proprietaries of 
Pennsylvania and especially to the family, property or 
possessions of those who are gone as riflers into the ser- 
vice of their country and to join the army near Boston. 
The delegates from the province of Pennsylvania are de- 
sired to write to their people or the heads of them to 
urge upon them the same peaceable disposition towards 
the settlers under Connecticut and that they make no at- 
tempts upon the possessions of each other but both sides 
to remain in peace and quiet and to be cautious and not 
to interfere in jurisdictions in the exercise of government 
but that they all live together in peace and good order 
and unite in the greatest harmony in the common defence 
if there should be occasion. You are desired to make 
no settlement by force nor use any threats for that pur- 



340 APPENDIX. 

pose. We are desired by the Congress to write to you to 
the purpose above and as they may have further to do in 
this affair, we hope your conduct will be such as to give 
no offence to that respectable body. 
We are your friends and honorable Servants, 

EuPHT Dyer 
Roger Shermaut 
Silas Deane. 

To COL. BUTLKR 

Esq. Dennisqn 

Esq. Judd 

Esq. Sherman, etc., etc. 



Roger SnERiiiAN to Zebulun Butler. 

Philadelphia, Sept. 13th, 1787. 

Sir, — I am informed by Col. Denison that the com- 
missioners appointed by the State of Pennsylvania are 
proceeding in examining the claims of the people settled 
under the claim of Connecticut and that they appear 
disposed to do justice to the claimants so far as they are 
enabled by the law. I hope it will be a happy means of 
quieting the inhabitants in their posssessions — I hear 
that some of the claimants are opposed to the measure 
but it appears to me it will be for the interest of all of 
them to get a confirmation of their title to as much land 
as they can under that law, though they may not get so 
much as they may think themselves entitled to ; whatever 
they get confirmed they may enjoy peaceably or dispose 
of as they please — the many and great calamities that 
the people of the settlement have undergone have given 
me great concern — their future peace and prosperity 
would give me much pleasure. 

Zebulun Butler, Esq., Wyoming. 



APPENDIX, 341 



Roger Sherman to Zebulun Butler. 

Philadelphia, February 14th, 1791. 

Sir, — I received your letter of the 3rd instant pr. 
Capt. Baldwin. I am sorry to find that the old contro- 
versy respecting your lands is likely to be revived after 
having been quieted by a solemn act of the Legislature ; it 
appears to me that the repeal of that act was a very im- 
provident measure. As to the writs you mentioned, I 
am not enough acquainted with the laws and mode of 
process in this State to give an opinion in the case, but I 
suppose that Captain Baldwin has consulted counsel 
learned in the law on the subject and obtained the 
necessary information. If the claimants under the pro- 
prietors of Pennsylvania will prosecute their claims in a 
course of law, the claimants under Connecticut will have 
right to a fair and impartial trial in the courts of the 
United States ; where they may avail themselves of their 
titles derived under Connecticut as fully as if the decision 
at Trenton had not been made, because (as) they were not 
parties to that suit their claims cannot be affected by it. 

How far they may avail themselves of the quieting aCl 
of Pennsylvania, in law, or by a suit in equity in the 
Supreme Court of the United States for a specific per- 
formance of the terms therein stipulated, notwithstanding 
the repeal, I have not at present formed an opinion. I 
hope the controversy will be terminated in a just and 
peaceable manner. 

I am with due regards your humble servant, 

Roger Sherman. 



342 APPENDIX. 



Zebulun Butler to Roger Sherman. 

WiLKESBARRE, Nov. 6th, I79I. 

Dear Sir, By the bearer Capt P. Schotts I favor this 
desiring your opinion on the following subject. The 
State of Connecticut in — 73 (at which time we were sub- 
jects of said State) entered into resolves that the inhab- 
itants suffering material losses by the depredations of the 
enemy should be compensated therefor — in a manner 
pointed out by the same law — This county — then named 
Westmoreland under her jurisdiction — was cut off — and 
each inhabitant more or less very sensibly injured. I 
recollect — agreeably to the alluded to resolve soon after 
we resettled the country — Persons for that purpose 
appointed under solemn oath — took from each of us 
an estimate of our several losses — but before anything 
further was done — a change of jurisdiction took place 
and we annexed to the State of Pennsylvania. Of course 
we have been entirely neglected. But query — as we at 
the period in which we were distressed — were subject of 
Connecticut — and all along paid to them our proportion 
of the country taxes — shall the change of jurisdiction 
which took place long after our sufferings deprive us of 
the benefit of that law? If so — is there no provision 
made by the present or former Congress ? Your advice 
in the premises will much oblige one who is with the 
truest esteem your friend and 

Humble servt. 

Zebu. Buii-er. 
Roger Sherman, Esquire. 



APPENDIX. 343 



GEN. DAVID WOOSTER. 

Gen. Wooster to Roger Sherman. 

Montreal, Feb. nth, 1776. 

Dear Sir, I am much obliged to you for your favor 
of the 20th ult. I was happy to hear that the Con- 
gress had made provision for our speedy reinforcement in 
this Province. Yet I fear it will not be sufficient if, as 
many conjecture, the ministry should send a large army 
here early in the Spring. Mr. Walker and Mr. Price, 
two gentlemen zealously attached to our cause, I have 
requested to go to Congress. They are the best ac- 
quainted with this province and with the tempers and 
dispositions of the Canadians, of perhaps any men in it. 
They will inform you much better than I can, of every 
thing concerning them. 

I have sent to Congress copies of several letters which 
have passed between General Schuyler and me. By 
which, and my letter upon the subject you will see that 
we are not upon the most friendly terms. Which of us 
has occasioned the coolness the Congress will judge 
upon examining the letters. I think it a great unhappi- 
ness that we cannot agree among ourselves. I am con- 
scious however of no fault or neglect of mine to occasion 
it. I can write freely to you. As you have lately been 
in Connecticut you must have heard the general dissatis- 
faction (among the troops of that Colony who were em- 
ployed in this department) at the treatment they met with 
from General Schuyler. It was as much as I could do to 
keep them easy and in the service, and had it not been 



344 APPENDIX. 

for their expectation of my arrival among them the con- 
sequences might have been fatal to our operations in this 
country. You will not think that this proceeds from 
vanity or private pique, be assured, Sir, it is from a real 
concern for our country. Tlie uneasiness in the army 
was and is now by no means confined to the Connecticut 
troops, but is universal among all who have served un- 
der him. And should he come into this country to take 
the command many of the best officers in the army would 
immediately throw up their commissions provided it can 
be done without risking every thing. I wish he had as 
much consideration. 

It is not firom ambitious views of keeping the command 
myself that I make these observations, though my services 
and experience might possibly entitle me to it. I should 
have been happy to have served under General Mont- 
gomery. He once, from some trouble he met with from 
some of his officers determined to leave the service and 
actually resigned the command to me, but apprehending 
unhappy consequences might follow from it, I persuaded 
him, though with great difficulty to reassume it. You 
will readily perceive the terrible consequences that may 
follow from a want of confidence in the commanding 
officer. I greatly fear in the first place that it will be 
difficult to raise the men, and when they are raised they 
will soon catch the opinions of those now in the army. 
I hope the evils apprehended will prove less than our 
fears. 

Col. Hazen and Col. Antill both inform me that the 
Congress have appointed me Maj. General. As General 
Schuyler has not informed me of it and as there is nothing 
of it in the extracts of the Resolves of Congress sent to 
me by him, I shall be obliged to you for information. 
You will be pleased to remember me respectfully to 
Messrs Huntington and Woolcot and believe me with 



APPENDIX, 345 

the greatest truth and sincerity your real friend and most 
obedient 

Very humble servant, 

David Wooster. 

Mr Hare is in this town and shall be used with 
every civility and furnished with a proper passport and 
assistance. 

Hon. Roger Sherman, Esq. 



William S. Johnson to Roger Sherman. 

New York, April 20th, 1785. 

Dear Sir, I am sorry to hear by General Woolcot that 
you are not coming to N. York, as Capt Wooster gave 
me to expect you would, about this time. I extremely 
want your opinion and advice relative to the pursuing 
Mrs. Wooster's petition before Congress. The difficulty 
is this. Congress have very lately upon the petition of 
Gen. Thomas' widow of Massachusetts, fully explained 
the doubt there was, whether he was entitled to briga- 
dier's or Colonel's pay deciding it in favor of the former. 
Thus, one of the grounds of Mrs Wooster's petition is 
effectually removed. What remains, is only that the 
State of Connecticut will not pay it, though the requisi- 
tion of Congress is as full as they can make it, if they 
should take up the subject again. And is it to be pre- 
sumed that Congress will take it up themselves, merely 
because Connecticut will not do what she ought ? Nay 
will the finances of the United States admit of such a 
measure? Yet more, can they do it when the other 
States have actually taken upon themselves, and are now 
in the payment of similar demands, as N. York of Mrs 
Montgomery, N. Jersey of Mrs Barber, &c, &c ? Would 



346 APPENDIX. 

not this derange everything? Will not the matter now 
stand solely upon the ground, and appear in the light, of 
a complaint against the State? If so, can I advocate 
it? Will not everything of the nature come with a very 
ill grace from a delegate of the State ? Finally, for I dare 
not presume to ask any more questions, is it not most 
advisable, since Congress have explained the only doubt 
there was in the case, and that the session of the General 
Assembly is so near, for Mrs Wooster to apply once more 
to the Assembly before she pursues the matter further 
here. Your sentiments upon this subject would give 
great relief to, and extremely oblige, Dear Sir, 
Your most obedient humble servant, 

Wm. Saml. Johnson. 

Gen. Woolcot will tell you our situation here, since the 
blow we have received from N. York. I am loath to re- 
vive the idea of so severe and fatal a defeat. 

After I had written the within, I had the honor to 
receive your favor of the 12 th inst. That I had nothing 
agreeable to acquaint you with, must be my apology for 
not writing, and I presume you had long since heard that 
N. York had, in Senate, finally rejected the 5 per cent 
impost. It will not be resumed again this year. Georgia 
too has neglected to grant it. In consequence whereof 
a most respectable grand jury of the State, have, before 
their Supreme Court, indicted the whole legislature of a 
high handed misdemeanor. This however will produce 
no immediate benefit to the United States, and their 
credit must for the present languish. Our only actual re- 
source is the Western Territory, (for I consider requisi- 
tions as extremely precarious) ; this we have been diligently 
at work upon for some time, and I hope shall now soon 
complete. I think I may assure you, it will be settled to 



APPENDIX. 347 

sell in townships, of about 7 miles square, to be divided 
for purpose of sale to the several States, to be disposed of 
at auction, fixing however a price say 6/ per acre, below 
which it shall not go. The army also to take in town- 
ships. I could wish the plan you propose with respect to 
the impost could take place, but it is so bold and decided 
a measure that I fear we are not at present sufficiently in 
spirits to adopt it. The cession of Connecticut has been 
long depending before a committee of 5, most of whom 
attend with reluctance, but when they meet contest it 
with vigor. It will nevertheless be pushed, if possible, to 
a decision. The Massachusetts cession has been just 
now accepted which is no unfavorable circumstance. 
The wish is that we would cede the whole of our right, or 
at least as far as New York and Massachusetts have done, 
viz, to a line twenty miles west of the strait of Niagara. 
But I am of opinion that if Connecticut proceeds in the 
affair with firmness and prudence, she may yet retain the 
boundary she has proposed, but something must be de- 
termined upon soon, for the reserved territory will be in- 
cluded in the sale proposed by Congress, except that 
part of it reserved by the Indians. The running the 
Western line of Pennsylvania, which is to be done this 
Spring, will give us clearer and more determinate ideas of 
that country. The case of Vermont has not been brought 
before Congress, owing to its having been depending all 
winter before the Legislature of this State, under a gen- 
eral expectation, which had taken place, that they would 
declare them independent and request Congress to re- 
ceive them into the Union. It appears now, within a 
few days, that it will not be done this session, and why 
Vermont is not here to pursue the matter in Congress I 
know not. 

We have pretty certain intelligence that the western in- 
habitants of Virginia, and of North Carolina, are erecting 



348 APPENDIX. 

themselves into separate and independent States. This 
renders it extremely necessary that the United States 
should take immediate care of their Western Territory. 
Seven hundred men are recommended to be raised for 
this and other purposes. I wish this number may be 
sufficient. Mr Kirkland has just now been with me. He 
appears to be a worthy and well informed man, and I 
sincerely wish he could be re-established among the 
Indians. I shall certainly do all in my power to give 
facility and effect to his application to Congress. But 
the feeble finances of the United States give a check to 
every liberal and enlarged idea. They damp the ardor 
of the generous, and are an effectual screen for the il- 
liberal and contracted. I do not despair, however, that 
something may be done. Col Cook leaves us to-morrow. 
I beg your influence to send on some other gentleman in 
the delegation, as well to supply his place, as to relieve 
me, that I may, about the middle of May, attend the 
General Assembly, where I have business of importance, 
for a few days ; after which, if it be thought expedient, I 
will without hesitation return here again, and am with the 
sincerest esteem and respect. Dear Sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

Wm. Saml. Johnson. 
Superscribed Hon. Roger Sherman, New Haven. 



XI. 

Descendants of Roger Sherman. 

I had expected at one time, to be able to give a list 
of Roger Sherman's descendants as far as the third gen- 
eration. To have made this list complete would have 
delayed too long the publication of the Memoir. In its 



APPENDIX. 349 

place I can only offer this hurried sketch of a few of those 
descendants written by Senator Hoar just before he left 
for Europe. 

The three sons of Roger Shaman by his first wife, 
John, and William and Isaac, were, as we have seen, of- 
ficers in the Revolutionary Army. Isaac died unmarried. 
William left one daughter, who married and was the an- 
cestor of many dcsceudaiits. John^ the oldest son, died 
at Canton, Mass., August 8, 1802. He was the father of 
Rev. John Sherman, who was the owner of Trenton Falls, 
a very accomplished person in his day, of whom there is 
^ charming sketch by N. P. Willis, in a little book called 
Trenton Falls, which also contains an interesting paper 
by Mr. Sherman himself. 

Chloe, the only daughter of the first marriage who 
grew up, married ^r. John Skinner, a physician in New 
Haven, the grandfather of the Hon. Roger Sherman 
Skinner, an eminent mayor of New Haven, and of Mrs 
President Dwight. 

Roger Sherman, Jr., the oldest son of the second mar* 
riage, graduated at Yale in 1787. He preserved his 
health and activity to a great age. He spent his life and 
died in the house that his father built He was a mer- 
chant in New Haven, highly esteemed for integrity and 
benevolence. He made Washington a visit of a fortnight 
at Mt Vernon shortly after the war of which he wrote an 
interesting account. 

Oliver, the second son by the same marriage, was grad- 
uated at Yale in 1795. After graduating he entered into 
mercantile business in Boston and died of yellow fever at 
the West Indies in 1820. 

Five of the daugliters of Roger Sherman and Rebecca 
Prescott lived to maturity. It is a proof of the quality 
which must have been inherited by them from their 
parents that each of them became the wife of a person 



3 so APPENDIX. 

Strongly resembling their father in integrity, public spirit, 
earnest religious faith, sound judgment and large mental 
capacity. Martha married Jeremiah Day, D.D., thirty 
years President of Yale College. Rebecca married 
Judge Simeon Baldwin of New Haven, a highly venerated 
citizen, a member of Congress from Connecticut and 
Judge of the Supreme Court of that State. She died 
leaving three children, Ebenezer, the historian of Yale 
College, Roger Sherman, Governor of Connecticut, and 
Senator in Congress, who made the famous argument in 
the Amistad case before the Supreme Court of the United 
States, and was a member of the Peace Congress of 1861. 
She also left a daughter, Rebecca. 

After her sister's death Judge Baldwin was married to 
Elizabeth Sherman and left by her one son, Simeon, a 
merchant in New York. Judge Simeon Baldwin enjoyed 
the confidence and esteem of Mr. Sherman as much as 
any human being toward the close of his life. There can 
be litde doubt that the following passage in an address 
from an oration delivered by Simeon Baldwin, July 4, 
1788, the year of the adoption of the Constitution of the 
United States, expresses the opinion of his father-in-law : 
" The labours of the patriot and the friend of humanity 
are not yet completed. It is their task to remove those 
blemishes which have hitherto sullied the glory of these 
States. We may feed our vanity with the pompous re- 
cital of noble achievements — we may pride ourselves in 
the excellency of our government — we may boast of the 
anticipated glories of the western continent. — But virtue 
will mourn that injustice and ingratitude have, in too 
many instances, had the countenance of the law. — Hu- 
manity will mourn that an odious slavery cruel in itself, 
degrading to the dignity of man, and shocking to human 
nature, is tolerated, and in many instances practised with 
barbarian cruelty. — Yes, even in this land of boasted 



APPENDIX. 351 

freedom, this asylum for the oppressed, that inhuman 
practice has lost its horrors by the sanction of custom. 

"To remedy this evil will be a work of time. God be 
thanked it is aheady begun. Most of the southern and 
middle states have made salutary provision by law for the 
future emancipation of this unfortunate race of men, and 
it does honor to the candor and philanthropy of the 
southern States, that they consented to that liberal clause 
in our new constitution evidently calculated to abolish a 
slavery upon which they calculated their riches." 

It is well known that Mr. Sherman's intimate friend 
and pastor, Jonathan Edwards, was one of the leaders in 
the abolition of slavery in Connecticut. 

Mehetabel Sherman became the wife of Jeremiah Evarts 
and mother of William M. Evarts of New York, Senator, 
Secretary of State, and Attorney-General of the United 
States, the famous advocate who argued and won three 
of the greatest causes ever decided by the forms of a 
judicial trial, — the trial of a President of the United 
States on impeachment, — the trial before the Electoral 
Commission of the title to the office of President, — and 
the case of the United States against England before the 
Arbitration Tribunal at Geneva. Mr. Evarts was also 
counsel for Henry Ward Beecher, the celebrated pulpit 
orator, in the famous case of Tilton against Beecher. 
The father, Jeremiah Evarts, was one of the founders, 
and was the chief organizer and first treasurer, and after- 
wards secretary of the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions. He was one of the twelve men 
who met in Samuel Dexter's office in Boston in 18 12, and 
initiated the great temperance reform. He died May 10, 
183 1, while engaged in the vain effort to prevent the 
outrage of the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia.^ 

1 The first husband of Mehetabel Sherman was Daniel Barnes, 
a West India merchant, by whom she had one son, Daniel Barnes 
of New York. 



352 APPENDIX. 

The youngest daughter Sarah was the wife of Samuel 
Hoar of Concord, Mass.^ an eminent advocate, highly 
esteemed for his integrity and ability. His mission to 
South Carolina for the purpose of arguing the constitu- 
tionality of the laws of that State under which colored 
seamen were imprisoned, and his expulsion from that 
city in 1844, were among the causes which led to the 
state of public feeling which resulted in the Rebellion 
and the overthrow of slavery in the United States. Ralph 
Waldo Emerson has drawn his portrait, faithful and noble 
as a picture by Van Dyke. He was a member of the 
Convention of 1820 for revising the Massachusetts Con- 
stitution. When he first rose to speak in that body, John 
Adams said, '' That young man reminds me of my old 
friend Roger Sherman." 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, first interview with 
R. Sherman, 64; records Sher- 
man's speech on Rights of the 
Colonies, 64; letter to James 
Warren, thinks revolution far off. 
81 ; resolution as to trade laws 
in the declaration of rights in 
1774; duties of Board of War, 
96 ; Sherman's plan of voting by 
States and by individuals, 96; 
letter to R. Sherman on receiving 
freedom of city of New Haven, 
205 ; Sherman's awkwardness, 
289-290 ; correspondence with R. 
Sherman on the Constitution, 31 1 ; 
opinion of Sherman, 290-291. 

Adams, Samuel, letter of R. Sher- 
man to, on finances, 104 ; consti- 
tution, 166 ; friendship for Sher- 
man, 288. 

Albany, convention at, 38. 

Amendments to Constitution, Sher- 
man's paper on, 177; Sherman's 
speeches on, 207-216. 

American cruisers, effect of, on Eng- 
lish commerce, 100. 

Ames, Fisher, opinion of R. Sher- 
man. 290. 

Ancestry of R. Sherman, 13-17. 

Annapolis convention, 129. 

Arnold, Benedict, arrested for riot 
on warrant issued by R. Sherman, 
44 ; distrusted by Sherman, 271. 

Articles of Confederation, reported 
and debated, 96 ; defects of, 127- 
128. 

Association of 1774, 85. 



Baldwin, Abraham, 145 ; vote of 
Georgia divided by, 147. 

Baldwin, R. S., letter on authors of 
life of R. Sherman in Sanderson's 
Lives, 7. 

Baldwin, Simeon, letter of R. Sher- 
man to, on death of William, 223 ; 
letter of R. Sherman to. on appli- 
cations for office, 223 ; recom- 
mended by R. Sherman as clerk 
of U. S. District Court, 226 ; let- 
ter of R. Sherman to, on troubles 
in White Haven church, 269; 
views on slavery, 348. 

Bancroft, George, estimate of R. 
Sherman, 302; opinion of corre- 
spondence between R. Sherman 
and John Adams, 328. 

Bartlett, Josiah, letter of R. Sher- 
man to, on Vermont troubles, 332. 

Bedford, Gunning, of Delaware, 146. 

Bills of credit, 28, 33, 162. 

Boudinot, Elias, 217,218. 

Burke, Edmund, advocates repeal of 
stamp tax, 55. 

Butler, Zebulun, letters to and from, 
on Wyoming, 93, 339-342. 



Cabinet Government, Sherman's 
plan for executive resembles, 1 56. 

Calhoun, John C, opinion of Sher- 
man, Ellsworth, and Patterson, 

.65. 

Caveat against injustice, 28. 
Congress. See Continental Con- 
gress and United States Congress. 



23 



354 



INDEX, 



Connecticut Journal, obituary notice 
of R. Sherman, 285-286. 

Constitutional Convention of 1787, 
127-165 ; defects of Articles of 
Confederation, 127 ; Annapolis 
Convention, 129; members of the 
Constitutional Convention, 130; 
propositions for amendment pre- 
pared by R. Sherman, 132 ; Con- 
vention divided between National- 
ists and Confederates, 135 ; de- 
bates divided into three periods, 
135 ; National plan of Randolph, 
136 ; Confederate plan of Patter- 
son, 136; leaders in convention, 
137; controversy over rule of 
suffrage in the National Legisla- 
ture, 137-153 ; R. Sherman pro- 
poses the compromise plan, June 
1 1, 138 ; Sherman favors single leg- 
islative house, but will vote for two 
houses, if the States have equal 
representation in one of them, 140 ; 
compromise plan adopted July 16, 
143; account of the controversy 
over, 143-153; the Nationalist 
majority was broken July 2 by 
Abraham Baldwin, by whose ac- 
tion the vote of Georgia was 
divided, 147 ; committee on com- 
promise plan, 147 ; reflections on 
this question of representation, 
154-155 ; Sherman's action on 
other questions, 156-162 ; Sher- 
man's plan for executive similar 
to Cabinet Government in Eng- 
land, 156; slavery, 160; hos- 
tility of some to new States, 
161 ; Sherman speaks in their 
favor, i6i ; Sherman opposes 
granting power to States to is- 
sue bills of credit, 162; errors 
of the ablest men in the Con- 
vention, 163 ; closing scenes, 164 ; 
John C. Calhoun's opinion of 
Sherman, Ellsworth, and Patter- 
son, 165. 

Constitution adopted, 1 66-1 81 ; ac- 
tion of different States, 166; 
action of Connecticut, 167 ; letter 



of Ellsworth and Sherman to 
Governor Huntington, 168; ar- 
ticles by Sherman, 1 70-181. 
Continental Congress, acts leading 
to, 82 ; assembles Sept. 5, 1774, 
82; Dyer, Sherman, and Deane 
delegates from Connecticut, 83; 
objects of, 83 ; manner of voting, 
83 ; petition to the King, ^-i) j dec- 
laration of rights, 84 ; non-impor- 
tation agreement, 84 ; Congress 
dissolved Oct. 26, 1774, 85 ; second 
Congress May 10, 1775, 85 ; same 
delegates from Connecticut, 85 ; 
Washington chosen General, 85 ; 
second petition to the King, 85 ; 
army besieging Boston adopted, 
85 ; treatment by the King of 
second petition, 89; States ad- 
vised to establish governments, 
89 ; Wyoming troubles, 93 ; com- 
.mittee to draft Declaration of in- 
dependence, 95 ; committee to 
prepare Articles of Confederation, 

95 ; board of war created, 95 ; de- 
bate on Articles of Confederation, 

96 ; difference of opinion on man- 
ner of voting, 96 ; currency prob- 
lems, 98 ; Vermont troubles, 102 ; 
news of surrender of Burgoyne, 
105 ; recommends convention of 
States to regulate prices, 105 ; 
recommends States to suppress 
theatres, horse-racing, gaming, 
etc., 108 ; no actor to hold office, 
108 ; surrender of Lord Comwal- 
lis, 114; ratification of treaty of 
peace, it8 ; efforts to obtain con- 
sent of States to import duty, 118, 
121. 

Copper coin of Connecticut, Sherman 

inspector of, 124. 
Comyrallis, Lord, surrender of, 

114. 
Council of Safety of Connecticut, 

Sherman a member of, 124. 
Court-martial, letter of Sherman on, 

lOI. 

Currency, 98, 111-113. 
Cushing, Thomas, 59^ 190. 



INDEX. 



355 



Deane, Silas, 83, 85, 337. 
Dedham, England, home of the 

Shermans, 13. 
Descendants of Roger Sherman, 

348-352. 

Dickinson, John, unfounded claim 
for him, 9 ; letters from a fanner, 
57 ; reports articles of Confedera- 
tion, 96 ; letter to R. Sherman, 
117; in Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 130, 137, 138. 

Dunbar, Rev. Samuel, 19, 40. 

Dwight, Dr. Timothy, estimate of 
R. Sherman, 292, 293. 

Dyer, Eliphalet, 83, 84, 85, 337. 

Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, pas- 
tor of White Haven Church, 42 ; 
letter to Sherman urging accept- 
ance of mayoralty of New Haven, 
43 ; opinion of Sherman's char- 
acter and services, 280, 292, 299 ; 
description of his person, 304. 

Edwards, Pierpont, 201, 204. 

Ellsworth, Oliver, 130, 131, 137, 140, 
145, 146, 148, 151, 160, 163, 165, 
167-168, 290. 

Evarts, Jeremiah, 7, 349. 

Evarts, Wm. M., 14, 47, 227, 255, 
294, 349. 

Floyd, Gen. William, letter of 
R. Sherman to. on Constitution, 
167. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 130, 137, 143, 
146, 148,251. 

" Gaspee," destruction of the, 69. 
Gerry, Elbridge, 149, 150, 161, 164, 

210. 
Goodrich, L. G., description of 

Roger Minott Sherman, 256. 

Half-pay of army officers, letter in 
reference to, 329. 

Hall, Gov. Lyman, letter of R. Sher- 
man to, on ratification of treaty of 
peace, 118 ; letter to R. Sherman, 
June 10, 1789, on the state of the 
country, etc., 205. 



Hamilton, Alexander, 127, 129, 130, 
137, 164, 166. 

Hamilton, J. C, estimate of R. 
Sherman, 300. 

Hartwell, Elizabeth, married to R. 
Sherman, Nov. 17, 1749, 4°; 
children, 40; died Oct. 19, 1760, 
40. 

Henry, Patrick, opposes Constitu- 
tion, 166? opinion of R. Sher- 
man, 290. 

Hoar, George F., 8, 28, 253, 307, 
346. 

Hoar, Samuel, 350. 

Hopkins, Rev. Samuel, letter to R. 
Sherman on slavery, 97; corre- 
spondence with R. Sherman on 
disinterested submission, 275 ; Dr. 
E. A. Park on, 277. 

Huntington, Benj., letter to R. 
Sherman on his election as mayor, 
etc., 120. 

Huntington, Gov. Samuel, letter 
from Sherman and Ellsworth on 
the Constitution, Sept. 26, 1787, 
168 ; letter from Sherman Jan. 7, 
1789, 191 ; letter from Sherman 
Sept. 17, 1789, on work of the 
session, 279; letter from Sherman 
on slavery, 252 ; letter from Sher- 
man Jan. 3, 1 791, on Congressional 
matters, 257 ; letter from Sherman 
Nov. 21, 1 791, on Congressional 
matters, 263; letter from Sher- 
man, May 8, 1 792, on the work of 
the session, 266. 

Impost Laws, Sherman's speeches 
on, 193-198. 

Ingersoll, Jared, selected to assist 
agent of Connecticut in opposing 
the stamp tax, 49 ; accepts office 
of stamp commissioner, 5 1 ; forced 
to resign, 51 ; opinion of R. Sher- 
man, 293. 

Jefferson, Thomas, opinion of 
rights of Colonies, 63; writer of 
Declaration of Independence, 95 ; 



356 



INDEX, 



letter from Sherman introducing 
him to Dr. Stiles, 126 ; opinion of 
R. Sherman, 291 ; letter to R. S. 
Baldwin, on R. Sherman, 291. 
Johnson, Wm. Samuel, unfounded 
claim for him, 9 ; sketch of him, 
130 ; positions held by him, 131 ; 
member of Constitutional Con- 
vention, 130; services there, 131, 
140, 144, 162 ; advocates adoption 
of the Constitution, 167 ; letter to 
Sherman, 345. 

King, Rufus, 151. 

Lansing, John, 137, 140. 

Law, Richard, on committee with 
R. Sherman to revise laws of 
Connecticut, 114; letter from 
Sherman on this subject, 115; 
letter from R. Sherman, Oct. 3, 
1789, 225. 

Lee, Richard Henry, letter to R. 
Sherman, 124; opposes Constitu- 
tion, 166. 

Lottery, attempts to raise money by, 
99. 

Macon, Nathaniel, opinion of 
R. Sherman, 291. 

Madison, James, in the Constitu- 
tional Convention, 137, 143, 145, 
148, 151, 155, 160, 161, 164; repre- 
sentative in Congress, 193, 198, 
207, 208, 215, 251 ; memorandum 
on national bank, 259. 

Martin, Luther, 137, 140, 151, 156. 

Mason, George, unfounded claim for 
him, 9 ; in Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 143, 144, 160, 161 ; refuses to 
sign Constitution, 164; Patrick 
Henry's opinion of, 289. 

Mason Jeremiah, description of R. 
Sherman, 305-307. 

Mitchell, Justus, 273. 

Morris, Gouverneur, in Constitu- 
tional Convention, 137, 151, 160, 
161, 164; Sherman opposes his 



confirmation as Minister to 
France, 271. 
Morris, Robert, report of committee 
on his accounts, 334. 

National Bank, Sherman and 
Madison on, 259. 

New Hampshire, threatened seces- 
sion from, 109. 

New Haven, life of R. Sherman in, 
41-48 ; R. Sherman mayor of, 42 ; 
Washington's visit to, 226. 

New Haven Convention, to regulate 
prices, 105. 

New Milford,life of R. Sherman in, 
24-40. 

New York Convention, on Stamp 
Act, 50. 

Northwestern territory, land of Con- 
necticut in, authorized to be con- 
veyed to the United States on 
certain conditions, 117. 

Olmsted, Prop. Denison, ac- 
count of death of R. Sherman, 
281. 

Otis, James, pamphlet on Rights of 
the Colonies, 50. 

Paine, Elisha, letter of R. Sher- 
man to, on secession from New 
Hampshire, 109. 

Park, Dr. Edwards A., on Hopkin- 
sianism, 277. 

Parker, Jonathan, 200-201, 25,1. 

Patterson, William, 136, 137, 138, 
165. 

Pendleton, Edmund, 86. 

Pinckney, C, 147, 150. 

Pinckney, Gen. C. C, proposes 
committee of eleven, 147. 

Pitt, William, 55, 56. 

Prescott, Rebecca, first meeting with 
R. Sherman, 46; married, 44; 
children, 45 ; unites with the White 
Haven Church, 47 ; dines at Gen- 
eral Washington's, 48 ; character, 
45, 47; ancestors, 45. 

Public credit, Sherman's speeches 
on, 229-234. 



INDEX. 



357 



Randolph, Edmund, proposes 
plan of Constitution, 136; sif- 
frage, 147; refuses to sign, 164. 

Randolph, John, opinion of R. Sher- 
man, 303. 

Revision of laws of Connecticut, 
1 14-1 1 7. 

Rockingham Ministry repeals Stamp 
Act, 55 ; defeat of, 56. 

Rosebery, Earl of, of Sherman de- 
scent, 14. 

Sanderson's lives of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, 
authors of Life of Roger Sherman 
in, 7. 

Scott, General Winfield, opinion of 
R. Sherman, 296. * 

Sedgwick, Theodore, opinion of R. 
Sherman, 295. 

Senate, 263-267. 

Shennan, Chloe, daughter of Roger, 
married to Dr. John Skinner, 347. 

Sherman, Edmond, founder of Sher- 
man Hall, Dedham, England, 14. 

Sherman, Elizabeth, daughter of 
Roger, letter to father on death 
of William, 221 ; married Simeon 
Baldwin, 348. 

Sherman, Isaac, sketch of, 90 ; letter 
to R. Sherman, 91 ; Washington 
recommends him for promotion, 
337 ; bravery at Stony Point com- 
mended by General Wayne, 338. 

Sherman, John, eldest son of Roger, 

4o» 347. 
Sherman, Rev. John, 15. 
Sherman, Capt. John, 15. 
Sherman, John, U. S. Senator, 15. 
Sherman, Josiah, brother of Roger, 

i7» 44» 253. 
Sherman, Joseph, 16. 
Sherman, Martha, daughter of 

Roger, marries Pres. Day, 348. 
Sherman, Mehetabel, daughter of 

Roger, anecdote of opening door 

for General Washington, 227; 

marriage, 349. 
Sherman, Nathaniel, brother of 

Roger, 17, 23. 



Sherman, Oliver, son of Roger, 7, 
45» 347. 

Sherman, Rebecca, daughter of 
Roger, married Simeon Baldwin, 
348. 

Sherman, Roger, papers left at his 
death, 7; papers collected by 
G. F. Hoar, 8 ; bom in Newton, 
Mass., April 19, 1721, O. S. 18; 
father a shoe-maker, 16; moved 
to Stoughton in 1723, 18; edu- 
cated in common schools, 19; 
learned the shoe-maker's trade 
from his father, 19; death of 
father, 21 ; settled his father's 
estate, 21 ; united with the church 
in Stoughton, March 14, 1742, 
22 ; revisits Stoughton, 23 ; moved 
to New Milford, June, 1743, *4i 
life in New Milford, 24-40; sur- 
veyor in 1745, 24 ; buyer of land, 
25 ; town officer, 26 ; transferred 
to church in New Milford, 26 ; 
deacon, etc., 27; toll-bridge, 27; 
inoculation, 27; opens country 
store with his brother William, 
27 ; publishes caveat against in- 
justice, 28; Almanacs, 31-34; 
advised to study law, 35 ; ad- 
mitted to the bar, 1754, 36 ; Jus- 
tice of the Peace and of the Quo- 
rum, 36 ; tries complaint for not 
attending public worship, 36; 
seat in meeting-house, 37 ; repre- 
sentative, 1755, *"^ 1758-T761, 
37; labors in legislature, 38-39; 
agreement to settle a township 
near Fort Edward, N. Y., 39; 
marries Elizabeth Hartwell, Nov. 
17, 1749, 40; children, 40; death 
of wife Oct. 19, 1760, 40; moves 
to New Haven June 30, 1761, 41 ; 
engages in trade, 41 : contributes 
to fund for College Chapel, 42 ; 
receives honorary degree of A.M. 
from Yale, 42 ; treasurer of Yale 
College, 42; joins White Haven 
Church, 42 ; Mayor of New 
Haven, 42; Representative, 1764- 
'766, 43; Assistant, May, 1766, 



358 



INDEX. 



and for nineteen years, 43 ; Jus- 
tice of the Peace and Quonim, 
1765, 44; Judge of the Superior 
Court, May, 1766, and for twenty- 
three years, 44 ; complaint against 
BenecUct Arnold and others for 
riot, 44 ; married for second wife 
Rebecca Prescott, May 12, 1763, 
44 ; children, 45 ; first meeting 
with Rebecca Prescott, 46 ; letter 
to his wife on her birthday, 47 ; 
instructions of New Haven as to 
Stamp Act, 51 ; letter on Sons 
of Liberty, 52; on committee to 
assist Governor in preparing ad- 
dress of thanks on repeal of Stamp. 
Act, 56 ; on committee to enforce 
non-importation agreement, 57 ; 
letter of that committee, 58 ; let- 
ter from Thomas Gushing on 
Rights of Colonies, 59; reply to 
Cushing, claiming independence 
of Parliament, 61 ; statement of 
Rights of Colonies to John 
Adams, 64; speecli on same in 
Congress, Sept. 8, 1774, 64; let- 
ter on Episcopal Bishop for 
America, 65 ; articles on Wyom- 
ing, 70-80 ; delegate in Congress 
of 1774, 83 ; delegate in Congress 
of 1775, 85 ; favored a New Eng- 
land general for the army about 
Boston, 86 ; letter to David Woos- 
ter on his appointment as Briga- 
dier-General, 86 ; reply of General 
Wooster, 88 ; committees on which 
Sherman served in 1775, 89 ; 
sketch of his son Isaac Sherman, 
90 ; letter from Isaac to his father 
from Brookline Fort, 91 ; letter 
to Z. Butler about Wyoming, 93 ; 
committees on which Sherman 
served in 1776, 95; Sherman's 
speech on method of voting in 
Articles of Confederation antici- 
pates the compromise provision of 
the Constitution, 96; letter from 
Samuel Hopkins on slavery, etc., 
97 ; letter to Governor Trumbull 
on the currency, 98 ; on lottery, 



99; need of rest, 99; letter on 
American cruisers, 100; letter 
on court-martial, 101 ; Vermont 
trouble, 102 ; Springfield Conven- 
tion on currency, 102 ; letter to Wil- 
liam Williams on same, 104; let- 
ter to Samuel Adams on finances, 
104; committees on which Sher- 
man served in 1777, 105; pro- 
poses pair of spurs for General 
Wilkinson, 105 ; New Haven 
Convention for regulating prices, 
105 ; letter to Governor Trum- 
bull, Aug. 18, 1778, on currency, 
106 ; letter to same, Oct. 15, 1778, 
on finances, 107; committees on 
which Sherman served in 1778, 
1^8 ; letter on secession from 
State of New Hampshire, 109 ; 
committees on which Sherman 
served in 1779 and 1780, no; 
letters on finance to Governor 
Trumbull, 111-113; letter to same 
on surrender of Lord Comwallis, 
114; eight years in Congress, 114 ; 
on committee to revise laws of 
Connecticut, T14; letter to Mr. 
Law on the subject, 115; letter 
from John Dickinson, 117; author- 
ized with James Wadsworth to 
convey to United States land in 
the northwest, 117 ; letter to Gov- 
ernor Hall on ratification of treaty 
of peace, 118; letter from Ben- 
jamin Huntington on Revised 
Laws, and election of Mayor, 120 ; 
letter to William Williams on im- 
post duty etc., 121 ; member of 
Connecticut Council of Safety, 
124 ; inspector of copper coin of 
Connecticut, 124; letter from 
R. H. Lee, 124; letter to Dr. 
Stiles, introducing Thomas Jeffer- 
son, T26 ; member of the Consti- 
tutional Convention of 1787, 130 ; 
see that title for services in ; 
labors for the adoption of the 
Constitution, 167-177 ; speeches 
in Connecticut Convention, 167 ; 
letter to General Floyd on same, 



INDEX. 



359 



167; letter of Sherman and Ells- 
worth to Governor Huntington, 
168 ; articles and letters on same, 
170-181; judge of the Superior 
Court, 182-190; services in Con- 
gress from 1789 to 1793, 191-267; 
letter to Governor Huntington on 
receiving notification of his elec- 
tion as Representative in Con- 
gress, T91; speeches on impost 
law, 193-198 ; speeches on ton- 
nage duties, 198-200; speeches on 
slave trade, 200-201 ; letter to 
Pierpont Edwards on the arrival 
of the Vice President, etc., 201; 
letter to Oliver Wolcott, May 14, 
1789, on proceedings in Congress, 
202; letter of Pierpont Edwards 
to John Adams, and letter of 
John Adams to R. Sherman, 
when the freedom of the City of 
New Haven was conferred on Mr. 
Adams, 204-205 ; letter from Gov- 
ernor Hall, June 10, 1789, on the 
state of the country, etc, 205 ; 
speeches on amendments to the 
constitution, 207-2 r6 ; speech on 
the Treasury Department, 217 ; re- 
marks on Thanksgiving, 217 ; let- 
ter to Governor Huntington, 219 ; 
letter from his daughter Elizabeth 
on the death of his son William, 
221 ; letter to Simeon Baldwin 
on same, 223 ; letter to Simeon 
Baldwin on methods of applying 
for office, 223 ; letter to his wife 
July 23, 1789, 224; letter to R. 
Law, Oct. 3, 1789, 225; Wash- 
ington's visit to New Haven, Oct 
1789, 226; took tea at Mr. Sher- 
man's, 227 ; anecdote of Meheta- 
bel opening door for him, 227; 
speech on western lands, 228; 
speeches on public credit, 229- 
234; speeches on State pebts, 
234-250; speeches on the slave 
trade, 250-252 ; letter to Governor 
Huntington on slavery, 252 ; death 
of Mr. Sherman's brother Josiah, 
253; letter to R. M. Sherman, 253; 



letter to Governor Huntington, 
Jan. 3, 1 791, on matters pending 
before Congress, 257; memoran- 
dum written by R. Sherman and 
James Madison on National Bank, 
259; letter to William Williams, 
Feb. II, X791, 260; elected to 
U. S. Senate in place of W. S. 
Johnson resigned, 263; letter to 
Governor Huntington, Nov. 21, 

1 79 1, 263; letter to same May 8, 

1792, on the work of the session, 
266; religious opinions, 268-280; 
faithful performance of duty a 
marked characteristic, 268; letter 
to Simeon Baldwin on troubles in 
White Haven church, 269; dis- 
liked men who boasted of their 
impiety, 270; opposed confirma- 
tion of G. Morris as minister to 
France on this ground, 271 ; 
fondness for the metaphysics of 
theology, 271 ; confession of faith, 
272; letter to Justus Mitchell, 
Feb. 8, 1790, on moral and natu- 
ral inability, and moral good and 
evil, 273; sermon on preparation 
for the communion, 274 ; letter to 
Dr. H. Williams, Dec. 17, 1791, 
on Richard Baxter's views on 
infant baptism, 274 ; correspond- 
ence with Dr. Samuel Hopkins 
on disinterested submission, 275; 
letter of Dr. Edwards A. Park on 
this subject, 277; correspondence 
between R. Sherman and Dr. 
Witherspoon on divorce, 277 ; Dr. 
Edwards on Sherman as a theo- 
logian, 280 ; last days and funeral, 
accounts by Professor Olmsted, 
Josiah Stebbins, Dr. Stiles, and 
Connecticut Journal, 281-286 ; 
length and variety of his public 
services, 288; rank in the Conti- 
nental Congress, 289; friendship 
with leading men north and south, 
289; an influential debater, yet 
no orator, 289; awkward, John 
Adams's description, 289 ; admired 
by orators, 290; Patrick Henry, 



36o 



INDEX, 



290 ; John Adams, 290-291 ; 
Fisher Ames, 291 ; tributes of 
Jefferson, Macon, Dr. Edwards, 
Dr. Dwight, 292 ; letter of Jeffer- 
son, 292 ; President Dwight's arti- 
cle, 293; Jared IngersoU's opin- 
ion, 294 ; Theodore Sedgwick's 
opinion, 295; General Scott's, 
296; qualities which secured his 
success were good sense, justice, 
self-control, 297; attributed his 
self-control to Dr. Watts's treatise 
on the subject, 298 ; anecdotes of 
self-control, 298-299; not ashamed 
of former occupation, nor proud 
of present honors, 299; Dr. 
Edwards's estimate of his political 
services, 299; his fairness and 
openness of mind, 300; John C. 
Hamilton's estimate, 300; Jared 
Sparks's estimate, 301 ; Bancroft's 
estimate, 302; sayings of Sher- 
^oasi^ 303; appearance, 304; re- 
served and bashful, 305 ; Jeremiah 
Mason's account of him, 305 ; 
kindness to relatives, 307; dis- 
liked pretension, 307 ; no ear for 
music, 307; kindness to neigh- 
bors, 308 ; character, 308-309 
correspondence with John Adams 
on the Constitution, 311-328; 
Bancroft's opinion of same, 328 ; 
letter on haif-pay, 329; letter to 
J. Bartlett on Vermont, 332 ; re- 
port on Robert Morris's accounts, 
334 ; R. Sherman's claims against 
Connecticut, 336; Wyoming let- 
ters, 339-342; General Wooster 
to R. Sherman, Feb. 11, 1776, 
343; W. S. Johnson to R. Sher- 
man, 345; descendants of R. 
Sherman, 348-352. 

Sherman, Roger, Jr., 347. 

Sherman, Roger Minott, letter of 
R. Sherman to, 253 ; sketch of, 

253-257. 
Sherman, William, father of Roger, 

16, 18, 21. 
Sherman, William, brother of Roger, 

17, 24» 25, 27. 



Sherman, William, son of Roger, 

40, 41, 221, 347. 
Sherman, General William T., 

15- 

Skinner, Dr. John, 347. 

Slavery, 85, 96, 145, 160, 200, 250, 
252, 348. 

Smith, Jeremiah, on R. Sherman's 
conversation, 304. 

Sons of Liberty, 50-55. 

Sparks, Jared, estimate of R. Sher- 
man and of correspondence with 
J. Adams, 301-302. 

Springfield Convention, on currency, 
102. 

Stamp Act, 49-69. 

State Debts, Sherman's speeches on 
assumption of, 234-250. 

Stebbins, Josiah, letters on death 
and funeral of R. Sherman, 
282-283. 

Stiles, Dr. Ezra, letter from R. 
Sherman, introducing T. Jeffer- 
son, 126; estimate of Mr. Sher- 
man's business ability, 41 ; account 
of death and funeral, 283-285; 
estimate of character and services, 
283-284. 

Stoughton, Life of R. Sherman in, 
18-23. 

Superior Court, services of R. Sher- 
man in, 182-190. 

Tea, destruction of, in Boston, 69. 

Tomb of R. Sherman, Inscription 
on, 286-287. 

Tonnage duties, speeches of Sher- 
man on, 198-200. 

Townshend, Charles, revenue act of, 
56. 

Thanksgiving, National, remarks of 
Sherman on, 217. 

Trumbull, Benjamin, 106. 

Trumbull, Governor Jonathan, cur- 
rency, 98, 107, 111-113; York- 
town, 114. 

United States Congress, Sher- 
man'sservicesin,! 91-267; speeches 
on impost, 193-198; tonnage, 198- 



INDEX. 



361 



200; slave trade, 200; western 
territory, 228; public credit and 
state debts, 229-250 ; slave trade, 
250-252; amendments to consti- 
tution, 206-216. 

Vermont, 102, 305, 332, 345. 

Wadsworth, James, 117. 

Washington, General George, 48, 
85, 129, 226-227, 337. 

Western lands, settlement of, Sher- 
man's speech on, 228. 

Whipple, E. P., on use of word 
** respectable," 293. 

Wilkinson, General James, messen- 



ger to inform Congress of Bur- 
goyne's surrender, 105. 

Williams, William, 104, 121, 260. 

Williams, Dr. H., letter from R. 
Sherman on infant baptism, 274. 

Wilson, James, 137, 138, 140, 143, 
146, 150, 151, 162. 

Witherspoon, Dr. John, letter to 
and from R. Sherman on divorce, 
277-280. 

Wolcott, Oliver, 202, 

Wooster, General David, corre- 
spondence with R. Sherman on his 
appointment as brigadier-general, 
86-89; letter to R. Sherman from 
Montreal, 343. 

Wyoming, 70-80, 93, 339-342- 



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